The Queen and the Mermaid
by JimbabweK88
Summary: [Canon AU X-over] Coming home from Corona, Elsa's ship is hit by a massive storm. The ship sinks taking Elsa with it. She awakens the next morning in a small life boat. She's unsure of how she survived until she meets a beautiful redheaded mermaid named Ariel. Stranded at sea, she bonds with Ariel and develops a friendship that may be more than it seems. [Arielsa, Femslash] -hiatus
1. Prologue: The Floating Stars

**Author's Note: This is an Arielsa fic. In case you came here looking for Elsanna, be prepared because there will be none. A lot of you know I ship Arielsa and deem it as my OTP. Well, I've been wanting to make a canon-verse Arielsa fic for a while now, and here it is. I hope you enjoy the story.**

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**Editor Appreciation: I want to thank crimsondragon6789 for being my beta-reader and my editor. She has done a wonderful job at helping with this story and I greatly appreciate her and all that she has done for me. She's a wonderful person and deserves to know that. Thank you, crimsondragon6789. :-)**

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**Update: Revised as of 2/16/15**

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**Rated Mature for violence, blood, nudity, some sexual content, and a scene of romantic intimacy between two sisters (incest—non-Elsanna)**

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**The Queen and the Mermaid**

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**Prologue: The Floating Stars**

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**(Attina)**

"Come on, Andrina!"

Attina beat her orange tail in the calm water, heading toward the surface. Night had befallen the land and the moon hung high in the sky above the smooth surface. The stars twinkled brightly across the blackness of the sky; the water's surface glistened and gleamed, reflecting the silvery glow of the moon above. As Attina darted to the surface, she marveled at the beauty above.

"Father says we're not supposed to go to the surface," Andrina whined but continued to follow her sister.

Attina halted her ascent and turned to look down at her younger sister. Her eyes sparkled as she gazed upon Andrina's beautiful form. Andrina's blonde hair was as magnificent as the Sun's rays, adorned with a purple decorative design that matched her tail and made for a makeshift ponytail. Her eyes were hazel, but in the silvery glow permeating the surface, they appeared as green as the seaweed that grew from the ocean floor. Her skin was fair and smooth and her scales were slick and purple—glistening like the stars above and growing in brilliance as they approached the surface.

Attina bit down on her lower lip as a smile took shape across her lips. "What father doesn't know won't hurt him."

Andrina caught up with Attina and she feigned a gasp, "But, Attina, you _always_ listen to father!"

"There's that sarcasm," Attina jested. She smirked and grabbed her sister's hand. Their eyes aligned as they floated near the surface—gazing upon each other. "You're so beautiful," Attina whispered.

"You're not half bad yourself," Andrina replied, her sarcasm in full swing.

Attina giggled. She gently shoved her sister, causing the water around her to ripple. "You know you love me!"

Andrina gathered her composure and floated idly in the water. Her purple, translucent fin at the end of her tail whipped back and forth through the calm water. She grinned, her pearly whites illuminated by the moon above. "Are you sure? Perhaps if you made me a shrimp and clam seaweed pie, I'd know for sure whether or not I really loved you?"

Attina swam over to her sister. "Perhaps I will," she said softly. She leaned in closely to her younger sister until their noses were mere centimeters apart. Attina eyed Andrina's lips and then stared back into her soft, hazel eyes. She leaned closer as if to kiss her, but then took her hand and swam quickly toward the surface instead. "But first, I want you to see this!"

The worry returned to Andrina's voice. "But, Attina... you know what he told Ariel about the surface."

"And neither one of us are Ariel. Besides, she broke the forbidden pact that mermaids are to never make their presence known to the humans, and to top it off, she went and _married_ one of them. And look where that got her. Now she's back in the sea and treated as if she's sixteen again."

"Yeah, but father knew she married Eric. He _let_ her be a human. He _let_ her follow her heart."

Attina stopped swimming, causing Andrina to stop again. Attina turned her back, lowered her eyebrows, and narrowed her eyes. She scowled at the thought of Ariel being able to be with a human when she couldn't officially be with the love of _her_ life—Andrina. "She's daddy's little mermaid, of course he let her do it. She's the youngest and she always gets her way."

Attina turned back to her lovely sister, her scowl immediately dissolving as she stared into those majestic eyes. She smiled. "Well you're _my_ little mermaid and I'll do _anything_ for you."

Andrina blushed. "Attina..."

Attina lifted her hand and placed it gently against Andrina's soft and smooth cheek. She brought her forehead forward until it was resting against Andrina's. Her orange, five-pointed crown hung over Andrina's blonde hair that floated gracefully in the water. Their eyes locked and Attina couldn't help but smile.

"I mean it," Attina whispered, "I'd do anything for you."

Andrina smiled. Attina tilted her head back toward the surface. She took Andrina's hand and continued their ascent.

As they swam hand-in-hand, both mermaids couldn't help but grin. Andrina rarely ever went to the surface and even when she did, it was with their father. She was known for being witty and sarcastic, but she always followed her father's rules. Attina was much the same. She loved being a princess of Atlantica and she felt great ardor at one day inheriting the kingdom, though not to the extent that she would wish an ill fate upon her father. She liked things in order, and she made it her life to follow those orders.

Attina made her feelings for Andrina her one exception. Andrina was her sister, and for as forbidden as it was for a mermaid to fall in love with a human, it was just as forbidden for a family member to have romantic feelings for another family member. She went out of her way to make sure no one knew about her and Andrina, and tonight would be no exception. They were all alone, and on the verge of breaking through the surface to spend one night together. Attina's heart pounded in her chest with elation at the thought of their romantic night together.

The stars grew closer, the moon became brighter, and the sounds of life above the surface became louder. As they broke through the water, both Attina and Andrina squealed at finally being above, breathing air!

Water surrounded them, and at a distance to the south was an island with elevated land. Atop this land sat a castle with several spires stretching high into the sky that overlooked the sea. Lining the hill were houses on all sides. There was a bridge that led to the mainland that was barely noticeable to Attina and Andrina. Luckily, they were far enough away from the island that they wouldn't be noticed by humans.

"We did it," Andrina cheered, her worries gone as she shared this moment with her sister—her lover—Attina. "We actually did it! We made it to the surface!"

Attina giggled at her sister's elation. She turned to her and took her hands in her own. "We did it together," she said softly.

Andrina bit down gently on her bottom lip, a crimson blush filling her cheeks. "You're the best."

"You make me the best," Attina replied, staring lovingly into Andrina's hazel eyes.

Andrina smiled and turned her head, feeling her cheeks blaze with heat. "You always know just what to say to turn me to seafoam."

Attina gasped with feigned sarcasm. "Don't say that! I couldn't live without you."

Andrina narrowed her eyes. "Now who's being sarcastic?"

"I learned it from the best," Attina jested.

Attina and Andrina giggled. They floated together at the surface, their bodies moving closer to one another. The fins at the tips of their tails brushed against each other's. They stopped giggling and gazed deeply into each other's eyes. For that moment, they were the only two creatures in the world, mermaids and humans included.

Slowly, their heads began to move closer. Their lips puckered and their eyes closed. Off in the distance people could be heard cheering. It didn't faze them though; their kiss was imminent.

The flicker of golden light cascaded above the two young mermaid princesses and before their lips could meet, their attentions were drawn to the light that glowed red beneath their eyelids. Attina and Andrina opened their eyes to see brightly-lit golden stars lifting from the surface of the far-off land and rising high in the sky to be with their brethren.

Living under water, Andrina had never seen such a beautiful sight. Her only frame of reference was seeing the stars in the black sky, dancing about as the surface rippled above her. This sight was much prettier and she was in awe.

Attina had seen these golden stars once before by accident. Being the next in line to inherit Atlantica, Attina would often traverse her father's palace late at night to make sure that everything was in order. One night, two years ago, she was doing just that when she noticed something odd in her father's throne room. The ocean floor was lit as if the Sun was out, but it was the dead of night. Perplexed by this phenomenon, Attina made her way to the surface without telling her father and found the culprit—golden stars traveling from the surface to the stars above. She found the site to be breathtakingly beautiful and vowed to one day show them to Andrina, should they ever happen again. The following year, which was last year, they had returned. This year, she made sure to share the moment with someone special, someone she loved—her Andrina.

"Attina," Andrina stammered, "the golden stars... what are they? Why are they here? Where are they going?"

Attina knew only of what her mother used to tell her. Queen Athena had said that when a merfolk would pass away, they would ascend to the heavens to be with the other merfolk in the stars. She told this to Andrina and this elicited a gasp from her sister.

"They're... they're so beautiful," Andrina whispered.

Attina smiled. She averted her gaze from the golden stars to her sister's awestruck face. She leaned in close, her lips next to Andrina's ear, and she whispered, "Not as beautiful as you are."

Andrina, gazing with bated breath, turned her head to Attina. Their eyes met and they stared at each other—adoringly—for several seconds. Her voice filled with adoration, Andrina said, "I love you." Suddenly, she kissed Attina deeply and passionately.

Attina returned the romantic gesture. Their hands roamed every inch of their cold, wet skin as their tails curled around each other's, fins clapping gently against the other's. Clamshell-covered breasts mashed together as they became one. Everything about this moment was passionate, sensual, and erotic. Their tongues met and battled for dominance as both sisters opened their mouths mid-kiss.

They pulled away from their loving embrace to take a breath. "I love you, Andrina," Attina moaned. "I never want to spend a day without you. I don't care if we have to spend our whole lives hiding our relationship, I just don't want to be without you, _ever_."

"Oh, just kiss me again!" exclaimed Andrina, lifting her hand to the back of her sister's head and pulling her face to her own, their lips colliding. The golden stars, which they perceived as the spirits of deceased merfolk, continued floating above them. They held each other tightly in loving embraces, sharing sweet kisses as they watched the phenomenon above.

**# # #**

Nearly an hour later, the golden stars were still floating, though fewer and fewer were coming with each passing minute. _The spirits must enjoy going all at once, that way they never have to travel alone,_ Attina thought.

Attina held Andrina against her chest, her arms wrapped around her younger sister and her hands clasped just above Andrina's navel. Attina planted soft, sensual kisses on Andrina's neck as she watched the stars float away. The sisters were silent.

Attina kissed along Andrina's shoulder and to her collarbone. She made her way up Andrina's neck, her lips warm and wet against Andrina's cool, clammy skin. As Attina approached Andrina's ear, she parted her lips and sucked on her sister's earlobe. Andrina shivered in her older sister's arms and Attina moaned softly, opening her eyes to see her beautiful sister. In the distance, something caught her eye.

She pulled away from Andrina's neck and gently detached herself from her sister. She submerged beneath the surface and swam a short distance, the golden glow of the floating stars illuminating her orange, scaly tail. She resurfaced.

"Attina, what is it?"

Attina squinted and noticed a familiar shape. A woman was sitting on a rock. As the golden stars floated overhead, she could make out the soft flow of the woman's hair resting over her shoulders and down her back. The woman's hair appeared black in the dark, but as one star floated over the mysterious woman and then another, Attina caught a glimpse of the woman's natural hair color.

Red.

_No, it can't be..._ Tracing the woman's figure with her eyes, Attina noticed a sparkling gleam from her waist down. The floating stars were glistening off of her leg. Attina followed the legs to what should have been feet, but instead, she saw a fin which was attached to an emerald green tail that gleamed brightly, reflecting the golden light emitted from the floating stars above.

_Ariel!_

Attina's eyes widened and she submerged quickly. She made her way back to Andrina and pulled her under the surface. "Ariel's over there!" Attina pointed in the direction of her youngest sister.

"We should say hi," Andrina said.

"We can't! How will we explain to Ariel why we're the only two at the surface, watching the floating stars? If she finds out about us and tells father, he'll separate us for sure and Andr-"

Attina's voice caught. She couldn't bear the thought of losing the love of her life, Andrina. Attina took in a deep breath and calmed herself. "We can't say anything to her. We have to tell father that she was at the surface. You know he doesn't want her up here, especially since she likes to mingle with humans."

"What? We can't tattle on Ariel! She's doing nothing more than we are. Father doesn't want _any_ of us at the surface. If you tell father about Ariel, you'll have to tell him about us, too."

Attina attempted to protest, but nothing came to mind. She sighed. "Fine! I'll tell him I was keeping an eye on Ariel. I saw her go to the surface and then I immediately came back to tell you—er, father, I mean."

Andrina narrowed her eyes. "You're going to rat on Ariel. Why? Why can't you just let her watch the floating stars like we were doing? She's not harming anyone. She's not interacting with any humans. She's just watching the stars float away so they can be with the other mermaids"—her eyes softened and her shoulders sank—"like mother," she whispered, her voice doleful.

Attina pursed her lips. Imagining her mother looking down on her and seeing her be intimate with Andrina made her feel ashamed. She knew what she had with Andrina was wrong, but the love felt so right. _Will anyone ever understand?_ A lump formed in her throat and she tried to swallow it away, but to no avail.

"Promise me you won't tell father," Andrina said.

Attina stared down at the dark abyss below her. She heard Andrina's voice but the words didn't register. _Why does Ariel get to have the forbidden love, but I can't?_

Andrina touched Attina's shoulder softly. Attina lifted her head, giving her attention to her sister. "Please, promise me you won't tell father about Ariel," Andrina said.

Attina looked back in the direction Ariel was sitting. She turned her focus back to Andrina and with a pained look, she nodded. "I promise."


	2. Chapter 1: To Arendelle

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**Chapter 1: To Arendelle**

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**(****Elsa****)**

"I want to thank you for inviting me over," Elsa said, a soft smile gracing her lips.

"After everything that's happened, I think it was well deserved. Besides, you're family," Rapunzel replied. She smiled back at Elsa.

Elsa chuckled. "The floating lanterns are quite beautiful," she said, looking to the mid-morning sky where the lanterns had been just the night before. "I'm sorry Anna couldn't make it. Her pregnancy makes her quite ill out on the sea."

Rapunzel smiled. "It's okay; I understand," she said rubbing her own round belly. "Eugene and I have been trying for so long and we're happy to finally be with child. Just be sure and tell Anna that I expect a full report from her when she has her baby. Oh, and tell her I'm deeply sorry for missing her wedding."

"It's okay," Elsa replied. "She understood. Traveling from Corona to Arendelle can be quite treacherous." Elsa's eyes softened and fell to the ground. The thought of her parents being lost at sea still perturbed her. "...our family _especially_ should know," Elsa added softly.

Rapunzel pursed her lips. She wanted to quickly change the subject. She didn't want her cousin leaving Corona on a doleful note. Rapunzel narrowed her eyes. "What did you say the husband's name is?"

"Kristoff," Elsa replied, lifting her eyes to meet Rapunzel's again. "Anna met him when she came to the North Mountain to bring me back home."

"Adventure and love... is there really any better way to find someone?" Rapunzel turned her head to look back at her husband, who was making conversation with the King and Queen of Corona.

Elsa smiled sadly, thinking of her own non-romantic life. "Well, you have a husband and Anna has a husband. At least I have a sister who loves me enough to save me from myself and bring me back to where I belong."

Rapunzel put her hand on Elsa's bare shoulder. Her skin was unusually cool to the touch, a stark contrast to everyone else's as well as her own. "There's someone out there for you," Rapunzel said softly. "You just have to promise not to give up."

The corner of Elsa's lips tugged upward at Rapunzel's words. "Thank you," Elsa replied softly. She wrapped her arms around Rapunzel and did her best to hug her cousin, her enormous belly making it awkward and impossible for Elsa to hug her completely.

Eugene came running up to the two young women with a pout on his face. "Elsa," he shouted. "Now, I know you're not departing Corona without giving _me_ a hug as well."

Elsa giggled. "Oh, come here!" She threw her arms around Eugene.

Rapunzel giggled as she watched her husband and her cousin embrace. Elsa pulled away and Eugene took his wife in his arms. He nuzzled his lips into the crevice of Rapunzel's neck and shoulder. "I love you," he whispered to Rapunzel, running his hands along his wife's belly, caressing the baby bump.

Elsa smiled at the couple. She extended her index finger and twirled it above their heads. A little dusting of snow rained down upon them. "You two are too adorable," Elsa said.

Eugene stuck his tongue out collecting snowflakes. Rapunzel giggled again. "Have a safe trip, Elsa. We'll be sure and visit as soon as our baby is born."

Elsa nodded. "I look forward to it." Elsa turned around and made her way to her ship. Two Arendelle guards stood on the dock. They escorted the Queen up the ramp leading to the ship. When Elsa was safely onboard, she turned and looked back to Rapunzel and Eugene. She waved. "Bye!"

"Bye," Rapunzel and Eugene shouted in unison. "I love you," Rapunzel added.

"I love you, too," Elsa shouted. Elsa turned and nodded at the guards. "Let's go home."

"Yes, your Majesty," one of the guards replied.

Another guard turned his attention to the captain of the ship. He shouted, "Take us back to Arendelle, Queen's orders."

The captain saluted and started belaying orders to his crew. Moments later, the ship left the Corona harbor and set sail for Arendelle.

**# # #**

That evening the ship coursed through the still waters. The stars twinkled brightly across the dark, cloudless sky, the moon casting a silvery glow across the water's surface and ship.

Elsa stepped out of the Queen's Quarters. She lifted her arms high in the air and bent her back stretching her body. She inhaled the cool night's air, relishing the salty sea breeze and taking a moment to enjoy the beautiful reflection of the celestial bodies upon the vast expanse of water. Her mouth opened and she released a yawn. "How are we doing with time?" the Queen asked.

A guard standing outside the Queen's Quarters replied, "We're right on track, your Majesty. We should be back at Arendelle in just a few days."

"Did you enjoy your stay in Corona?"

"I did, your Majesty." His voice quavered slightly.

Elsa shifted her eyes. She loved her kingdom and everyone in it, but she was deeply saddened by the fact that some people were still scared of her. It had been almost two years since the Great Thaw, yet even her own guards were still weary of her. She forced a smile. "I'm happy you enjoyed your time."

Elsa lifted her hand to pat the guard on the shoulder, causing him to flinch. Elsa immediately jerked her hand away as though it had been burned and cradled it against her chest. She looked at the guard, noticing his tense posture and watching his throat bob. She could tell he was nervous, afraid even, if she were to wager a guess. She lowered her head and cast her eyes to the wooden floor of the ship.

"Thank you for your service," Elsa murmured.

"I am happy to be a guard of the Kingdom of Arendelle - to Queen Elsa. It is my honor, your Majesty."

Elsa dropped her hand to her side. Whether or not he truly meant it, Elsa did not know. All guards were required to say that phrase as it was part of their training. She had heard it spoken several times in her youth when she would come out of her room for dinner and lavatory purposes. The only difference then was that the saying had been addressed to her father and her mother, King Agdar and Queen Idun, respectively, and the guards had been much happier—less frightened, especially.

Elsa turned around and went back to her bedchamber on the ship. She stood in her room all alone. A single oil lantern hung from a hook jutting from the wall furthest from her bed. Her room was bathed in a light orange hue. The flame flickered and danced about. She wondered why she hadn't brought a friend—even Olaf, who had wanted so desperately to see Corona, had been left behind. At the time, she felt he needed to stay with Anna. He was always a constant source of entertainment and provided much joy for her beloved sibling. And although Elsa felt terribly lonely at times like this, she always put her sister's needs and happiness above her own. Elsa was convinced that Anna needed Olaf more, for she was much more accustomed to being alone.

The Queen waved her hand over her ice gown and a pool of water quickly gathered at her feet. She stood in the middle of her room as naked as the day she was born. She walked over to the large, wooden dresser and opened a drawer. She pulled out a bed gown and a pair of panties and dressed herself. She stepped toward the lantern and pressed her finger against it. Ice shrouded the lamp and it quickly melted, extinguishing the flame. The bedchamber was enveloped in darkness. Elsa laid down on her bed and stared into the pitch black room.

Rapunzel's words repeated in Elsa's head, _"There's someone out there for you. You just have to promise not to give up." _Elsa's eyes fluttered shut. Sleep was slowly overtaking her and one last thought coursed through her mind. _I just have to promise not to give up..._

**# # #**

Elsa jerked awake as her body slammed into the wall next to her bed. She screamed.

The door to the Queen's Quarters opened in a fury. The guard standing outside her door shouted down to Elsa. "Your Majesty!"

Elsa felt a sharp pain in her shoulder. She ran her hand over it and caressed the spot. Elsa shook her head trying to pull herself out of her sleepy haze. "What going on?"

The guard stepped into her bedchamber and came rushing downstairs holding an oil lantern. "There's a storm. It's a terrible one. Walls of water are crashing into the ship and lightning is striking all around us."

"A storm," Elsa muttered in confusion. "But the sky was perfectly clear—"

"The storm came from the North. We rolled right in to it, your Majesty."

Elsa stood up. She was limned by the orange, flickering light emitting from the lantern. Her platinum blonde hair appeared as orange as her sister's but retained its natural elegance and form. A loud, thunderous sound crashed in the sky outside followed by the pulsing, bright light of lightning. The ship was struck by another wall of water and Elsa was thrown over her bed and against the wall—as was the guard.

In the midst of thrashing by the sea, the lantern was dropped, the glass shattering, oil spreading across the wooden floor and igniting shortly after. The room erupted in a heat of orange blaze. Elsa groaned, rubbing her head. The guard was knocked unconscious. Elsa watched as the fire spread and the room became consumed by the orange glow and heat. Thick, dark smoked quickly filled the room and Elsa sat up and began blasting spurts of ice at the flames. The fire however spread too rapidly due to the spilled oil and became too much for Elsa to handle. She jumped up off of the bed and darted around the fire. Lying still on the floor was the guard. The Queen stopped and watched as he didn't move. She couldn't tell if he was breathing or not. With how quickly the flames were consuming the room, she had two choices: get out of the room alone and save herself or risk her life and try to lift the man up the stairs.

Elsa did not dwell on her options long. She knew if she ran without at least trying to save the man—her own Royal guard—it would weigh heavy on her conscious. She wouldn't be able to forgive herself.

Elsa knelt down as smoke billowed up the stairway and escaped out of the Queen's Quarters. She managed to tuck her arms under the guard's and began to heave and pull. The heat in the room was immense and Elsa's cool, pale skin had become hot and flushed. Sweat emitted from every pore on her body and drenched her night gown. She tugged and heaved, but made very little progress going up the stairs. Smoke filled her lungs and her eyes and chest burned, nearly causing her to lose consciousness.

"Help!" the Queen tried to yell, but it came out as a series of coughs instead. She quickly lowered her head close to her feet to take in a breath of air that was less smoky. This time she was successful as she let out a loud yell. "Help!"

Thunder boomed outside and the rain poured, drenching the surface of the ship. Waves crashed relentlessly into the side of the vessel. The fire raged on in the Queen's Quarters and her voice was drowned out by the commotion all around.

Elsa felt exhausted. She was running out of fresh air to breathe and the blistering heat quickly grew intolerable. Her eyes began to flutter, her body felt heavy, and she just wanted to lie down and sleep. Her cousin's voice rang clear in her head.

_"Promise not to give up."_

Elsa clenched her teeth, narrowed her eyes, and flared her nostrils.

_I won't give up!_

With all of her strength, Elsa lifted the man and carried him up the stairs.

_I won't give up!_

She trudged through the thick, black smoke holding her breath for as long as possible.

_I won't give up!_

Her lungs and muscles began to ache. She wanted to take a breath, but she knew she couldn't. Her resolve strengthened with every step she took.

_I... won't... give..._ Elsa reached the stop step. "...up!" She stumbled out of the Queen's Quarters and the guard tumbled off of her back. She landed face first into a puddle of seawater and rain that coated the floor of the ship. Elsa lifted herself up and inhaled a deep breath. The smell of rain and salt water filled her aching lungs. Her clothes were instantly drenched by the rain, further soaking and ruining her bed clothes. She rolled over on her back and stared up into the dark, menacing sky. Lightning danced across the canvas of black above her, followed closely by the booming of thunder.

A loud explosion erupted from the Queen's Quarters. The flames had completely engulfed the room and had caught the lantern that hung from the hook. Thick, black smoke continued to billow out of Elsa's bedchamber.

Elsa sat up, startled at the sound of the loud explosion. She surveyed her surroundings and noticed that nobody was present. All she heard was the storm above and the sea below and no one was rushing to her aid. That's when she realized the guard that came to her aid was the last guard left on the ship. Elsa had no time to mourn their presumable deaths; she had her own life and the life of the remaining guard to worry about.

Elsa stood up and looked back at the black smoke pouring out of the Queen's Quarters. She had to make a decision and fast. She spotted the guard lying near the edge of the ship and quickly ran to him, kneeling down. He let out a groan.

Elsa's eyes widened. _He's alive!_ Elsa shook him lightly. "Hey, wake up."

The guard slowly regained consciousness and his eyes fluttered open. "Ugh, where—what happened?"

Lightning flashed and thunder boomed in the sky again.

"The storm—" The ship suddenly jerked sideways and Elsa and the guard were thrown against the side railing. Elsa let out a scream as her shoulder hit the side of the ship. The guard was not as fortunate, and he let out a bloodcurdling wail as he toppled over the side of the ship.

"My Queen...!" He shouted all the way down until he was devoured by the raging sea below.

Elsa stumbled to her feet and looked over the edge of the ship. He was gone. Tears filled her eyes and her jaw began to tremble. Each breath was heavier than the last. Each breath was taken faster than the last. Her heart pounded in her chest. Yet again she found herself all alone on the ship.

Lightning coursed through black clouds and lit up the ship and its surroundings. A massive wall of water loomed high above the Queen's vessel. Elsa felt numb and her whole body tingled. She stood with bated breath, ready to accept her fate.

"I won't give up," she muttered under her breath.

The wave slammed into the ship. Elsa was thrown back and she landed against the wooden pole that was the mainmast. Ice ejected from her hands and climbed up the pole, cracking and shattering the wood until it was split, causing the pole to topple over. Elsa darted out of the way as quickly as possible but the sails and shrouds came down with the pole. She was too slow, and she was instantly swept up under the sails and shrouds. The pole crashed hard enough to break through the floor of the ship, taking the sails, and trapped Elsa into the depths of the sea. Elsa unleashed spurts of ice in the hopes of providing enough buoyancy to stay afloat like an iceberg. Unfortunately, the pole in addition to the drenched sails was too heavy, swiftly dragging the ice as well as Elsa down toward the bottom of the sea.

Cold, salty water enveloped Elsa. She struggled fiercely under the sail to get free. Flashes of Anna appeared in her head. Her sister's red, braided hair, her freckled cheeks and her nose, her sister's swelling baby bump—she would miss all of it if she couldn't get free.

The loud, booming thunder was soon drowned out by the water above her as she sank lower into the dank abyss. She held her breath for as long as possible. And though her lungs ached, she held in that breath of air—the breath that kept her alive and still fighting.

She continued to struggle but she was quickly growing weaker. She wanted to exhale and take in a breath of fresh air so badly. She _needed_ to breathe again.

Darkness surrounded her vision and whether it was from unconsciousness settling in or her eminent death, she wasn't sure. Anna's child would never know their aunt. Poor Anna, a soon-to-be grieving sister would have the entire kingdom of Arendelle thrust upon her, as she would become queen in the wake of Elsa's death. Elsa wanted none of this for Anna. She didn't want to put her beloved sister through more torment, especially with the previous loss of their parents. She didn't deserve it, not then, not now.

Elsa couldn't go on, she was tired of struggling. She told herself she wouldn't give up, but she couldn't fight it any longer. It was her cousin's voice that gave her warmth in the final seconds before her body went limp and her consciousness faded to blissful rest.

_"There's someone out there for you. You just have to promise to not give up."_


	3. Chapter 2: Life Under the Sea

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**Chapter 2: Life Under the Sea**

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** (Ariel)**

"Ariel! Ariel! The King wants to see you!"

Ariel threw her hands up. Her palms graced the soft inside of the giant clamshell she lay in. She used her might to thrust upward and the clamshell opened. A group of bubbles surged out from the clamshell and rose to the surface of the sea fathoms above her.

Ariel arose from her clam bed which was layered with seaweed, sponges, and the soft insides of the clam itself. Her body hovered gently in the still sea water. Her breasts were bare and her nipples stood sticking straight out. Her bright, red hair floated all around her head as if each strand of hair were alive. She stretched her arms high above her head and bent her back slightly sticking her breasts out. Her tail swayed back and forth twirling water all around her body, kicking up dirt, mollusks, and shrimp from the seafloor. Ariel plucked a shrimp from the twirling water and bit into it. She chewed and savored the taste of the crunchy delight.

"Ariel!"

Sebastian swam through the dark, still waters. He approached Ariel's bedchamber and came to a stop upon feeling the currents coming from Ariel's room under the sea. He watched as she twirled around kicking up debris from the seafloor. Her hair twirled about her head and chest. Her tail flapped around and as she twirled faster and faster a small cyclone of water enveloped her. Ariel darted out from the twirling water and kicked her tail up and down heading straight for Sebastian.

Sebastian's eyes widened. "Ariel...!"

Ariel swept up her father's servant in her arms and spun around until she was floating on her back in the dark depths of the sea. She giggled. "Sebastian, did you see the stars floating in the sky last night? They were beautiful! They were unlike any stars I had ever seen before. They were unlike anything I had previously witnessed living under Eric's ruling." She shuddered at the thought of being with Eric. She perked up again thinking of the floating stars. "They sparkled and gleamed in the air! And, the people...!" Ariel gasped. "Did you see the festivities? Everyone was so happy!" Ariel sighed. "It makes me almost miss being human..."

"Ariel, that's what I'm here for. Your father wants to speak with you."

Ariel shifted her eyes. "Oh, Sebastian, you didn't tell my father that I went to the surface, did you?"

"I didn't," Sebastian said, shaking his head. "But, nonetheless he knows."

Ariel felt a lump growing in her throat. It had been just over seven years since that fateful day that she had rescued Prince Eric from his destroyed ship; seven years since King Triton had warned his daughter about going to the surface and communing with the humans; seven years since Ariel had accepted a curse from her aunt Ursula that made her human—just as she had desired—damning her to the unfortunate life of being stuck on land with legs. And, now being a mermaid again—having the curse broken—she was with fish tail once more.

Ariel cast her ocean-blue eyes to the seafloor. "I just wanted to see the stars," she murmured.

Sebastian struggled against Ariel's arms and large breasts. He managed to slide out from her grasp and wound up in a plethora of red hair. He fought his way out of the floating hair and turned to his servant's daughter. "Come, Ariel. The King will see you now."

Ariel looked down at her exposed breasts. They had certainly developed and become fuller since that fateful night seven years ago when she had rescued the Prince of Glowerhaven. Though mermaids often lived in the nude, the King of Atlantica—Ruler of the Sea—made it a rule that all mermaids must keep their chests covered when in his presence. She never understood the rule since mermen were allowed to go without covering their chests, but the King was her father and she did what she was told even at the age of twenty-two... at least, most of the time.

Living under the dark depths of the sea had its perks, though, when it came to being a mermaid. Ariel flapped her tail and thrust herself back to her room. Even with minimal light she could still see things clearly. Her eyes were special and allowed her to see in the dark, though all of the colors were warped by her dark-sea vision. Everything that wasn't touched by the light of the sky looked green to Ariel, but she didn't mind since it enabled her to see in the dark. It made hunting easier as fish and other sea life that lacked dark-sea vision was at a disadvantage. They were less likely to escape her when she found hunger growling from the pit of her stomach.

Ariel made her way to her bedchamber. She darted through the water, her hair flowing behind her and her tail whipping through the currents. She stopped just beside her giant clamshell bed and lowered herself to the sea floor. The fin at the base of her tail brushed along the seabed and kicked up dirt and shrimp and mollusks. She reached behind her plucking another shrimp from the stirred up water. She bit into the crustacean and chewed with her sharp teeth. As she swallowed the tasty delight she lifted the top of the chest that lay beside her bed. A giant bubble followed by a plethora of tiny bubbles emerged from the container and floated to the surface of the sea fathoms above her.

Inside the chest were countless items Ariel had gathered over the years. She reached inside and pulled out her blue, seashell bra. She didn't like wearing it much anymore because her breasts had become too large for it and it was now uncomfortable. She did her best to squeeze her breasts in the shells. She wrapped the thin seaweed holding the shells in place around her back and tied it. Her breasts ached a bit being confined in shells that were way too small for her bust, but she managed the pain. She would soon be able to free them once she was finished with her father's meeting—whatever it was he wanted to talk to her about, though Ariel had her suspicions that it may entail her visit to the surface the night before.

Ariel looked back in the chest and saw the gift Scuttle had given her years ago. She reached in and pulled out a fork. "My dinglehopper," Ariel exclaimed to herself quietly. She ran her hands through her long, wavy hair and gathered it all over her left shoulder. She positioned the fork handle in her right hand and began stroking the fork through her soft, flowing locks. She smiled at herself and cooed each time the fork went through her hair. When she finished, she set it back in the chest.

Hidden in the chest at the very bottom was a faded brown, leather pouch. Her mother had given it to her as a child. It was one of the last things she still owned that was given to her by her mother. She always kept it hidden away in her chest for fear that her sisters may try and steal it. It was worn and water damaged and the name that was once written across it had become barely visible. Ariel reached in and grabbed the leather pouch.

She opened it and stuck her hand in the pouch. She pulled out several clamshells that were tied together by a thin strand of seaweed and a small starfish that had long since perished. Ariel tied the seaweed in her hair letting the decorative clamshells sit atop her head like a makeshift hair band which kept her bangs out of her eyes. She attached the starfish to her hair behind her left ear. She closed the pouch and tucked it away in her chest and then closed it.

She whipped around stirring water all around her. Her wavy hair traveled slowly through the water and brushed along her scaly chest floating behind her. She kicked her tail up and down and extended her arms out in front of her. She dashed forward creating her own current behind her—kicking up more shrimp and mollusks from the seafloor—and made her way to her father's palace.

**# # #**

As Ariel flapped her tail through the calm, serene water the spire sitting atop her father's palace gleamed golden with the sunlight from the surface. The golden glow cascaded down into the depths slowly fading into oblivion as the bottom of the palace sat in complete darkness. For Ariel though, the palace floor radiated with green light. She kept dashing forward kicking her tail and flaring her gills that rested on either side of her neck as she exerted energy moving through the water.

She darted through several pillars leading up to the main entrance of the palace. Seaweed coiled around the base of the pillar and sea slugs, octopi, and other various sea creatures rested upon the pillars. Ariel made her way inside the dark, lively palace perking up and smiling as the songs of the merfolk that she was so accustomed to hearing and singing growing up captured her ears. Mermaids and mermen sang jolly tunes as Ariel whipped around the merfolk and swayed her hips to the songs.

_King Triton's palace in the deep, dark blue_

_Welcome to all merfolk like me and you_

_Here in the sea where his kingdom lies_

_He's our Ruler; he's valiant, brave, and wise_

As Ariel shifted through the merfolk to her father's throne room she hummed along with the song. The palace became less dark and less green the more she ascended and the golden light radiated from her father's throne room through the wide hallway that was crafted from old ship pieces that had met their watery graves over the ages. Ariel darted through the empty hallway and was met by the blinding golden light emitting from the surface of the water and jutting down into her father's throne room. Ariel rubbed her eyes allowing them to readjust to the brightness of the room.

King Triton sat in his throne that was crafted from a large, broken, fossilized seashell. His arms were crossed over his chest and he stared down at his youngest daughter—his eyes narrowed, his nostrils flared, his lips straight, and his brows knitted together. Ariel's smile faded as she examined her father's disappointment. Sebastian swam over to Ariel.

"The King," he introduced softly extending a pincer out to her father.

Ariel moved forward slightly and curled her tail up behind her. It was a nervous habit of hers that she did whenever she knew her father was disappointed or upset with her. She wrapped her arms tightly across her midsection letting her breasts hang over them. She lowered her head stealing quick glances of her father as she darted her eyes up at him and then back to the golden floor of the throne room. She pursed her lips.

King Triton spoke. "Ariel..." His voice was deep and stern and calm. Ariel winced at his voice. The King spoke her name again. "Ariel..." This time Ariel lifted her head and looked upon her father. She didn't say a word. She couldn't. Her voice had betrayed her. She felt as if she had traded it again, except she didn't get her human legs in return. Instead, she was gifted with her father's disappointment.

"Ariel, do you know why I've summoned you here?"

Ariel knew, but she couldn't bring herself to speak.

King Triton continued, "Attina told me she saw you last night go to the surface."

Ariel's eyes widened. _Attina..._

"Why did you go to the surface when I specifically told you not to go to the surface ever again?"

Ariel's bottom lip quivered. Her jaw trembled and fear and anxiety consumed her. She felt her heart thumping in her chest. She spoke, but her voice was very soft."I... I wanted... to see the stars..."

"What was that?" the King said loudly, stirring the water around him.

Ariel's tail continued to curl up the length of her back. She was twenty-two and her father still ruled over her life. Then again, he was the King of Atlantica—Ruler of the Sea. The entire world beneath the surface was his domain. Ariel had no choice but to obey her father.

"I wanted to see the floating stars," she repeated, this time speaking a bit louder.

"I need you to speak up." His voice cut through her like jagged rocks found deep in the chasms of the dark depths of the ocean's caves.

"I wanted to see the stars floating above the surface," Ariel shouted. Realizing her sudden outburst she sunk closer to the surface of the throne room. Her arms tightened around her midsection. She tucked her chin against her chest.

"And, that is why you are here, Ariel," the King said calmly. "How many times have I told you to _never_ go to the surface?"

_Countless times_, Ariel thought.

"How many times have I warned you about the humans living on land and what they'll do to us? Do you remember your mother, Ariel?" He waited for her to show some sort of reaction or emotion. Ariel didn't move. She was tense. "Well, _do you?_"

"Yes!" Ariel screamed. She rose to meet her father. Water twirled all around her, her red hair floating freely away from her body. "I remember my mother," she shouted. "I remember she used to take us—_all of us!_—to the surface so we could play and enjoy the sights and sounds of the life above the sea. She wasn't scared, daddy! She was fearless and she was smart and funny and she had the most melodic and wonderful voice any one—human or merfolk—could ask for!" Ariel's jaw still trembled. Had she been human tears would have been falling down her cheeks for sure. But, being a mermaid she didn't produce tears. "I loved mom and she would have told us to explore the surface, because she knew that not all people are like Eric and the _pirates_"—she clenched her teeth, her face filling with crimson—"that killed her!" Ariel's voice quavered. "I explore the surface for mother. I explore the surface because she would have wanted me to. I explore the surface because I like gazing at the stars and imagining she's looking down on me and smiling."

As a child, Ariel's mother had always told her that to be a mermaid meant to live eternally among the stars, even though they lived under the sea. She had told Ariel that when mermaids passed away, they were turned to seafoam to give back to the sea, but that they lived on forever among the stars. Ariel took that to heart and when her mother was killed, she felt lost, abandoned. She loved her father and her sisters, but she loved her mother most of all. To see the stars was to see her mother's beautiful smile once more.

Ariel straightened her back and her tail and locked her eyes with her father.

"Your mother was a brave mermaid," the King said softly and calmly. "Perhaps even the bravest mermaid I had or even will _ever know_, but she lost her life exploring the surface. I don't want that for you, Ariel. I don't want to see you die."

Ariel's voice quavered. "How can you still control my life?" She floated in the water whipping her tail back and forth, stirring up water all around her. "How long must you keep me trapped here like a prisoner?"

King Triton rose from his seashell-crafted throne. He gripped his trident and furrowed his brow. His peach skin had become flushed rising from his chest, to his neck, and settling in his cheeks. He shouted, "Do you remember what happened with your prince? Do you remember the torment he put you through? Do you remember what happened to Flounder, your best friend?"

Ariel's bottom lip quivered again. She felt a sharp pain pierce her heart, as if her father had stabbed her with his trident. Ariel sunk to the surface of the throne room floor. Her tail collapsed beneath her. She straightened her arms keeping herself propped up, but they quivered and gave out beneath her. Her turquoise tail curled around her being and she began to wail. She couldn't physically cry like she could when she was a human, but she could wail and that was better than any crying she could have done while living on land as a human.

Images of Flounder filled her mind. It only made her wail harder. Her voice projected throughout the throne room bouncing off walls and stirring up water. Ariel lay at the floor of the throne room cascaded in the golden light that permeated her father's throne room from the sun far above the surface.

King Triton sighed upon seeing his youngest daughter hurt and broken. He softened his eyes and dropped his shoulders. He swam down to his daughter. Softly, he said, "The surface is no place for a mermaid. Ariel, I'm—"

Ariel shot up, snarling at her father. "No! You're wrong! I _do_ belong on the surface and I _don't_ belong _here!_" Ariel whipped her tail up and down and jetted through the water as quickly as possible. As water passed through her mouth and nose, she absorbed as much oxygen as she could, ejecting the used water through the gills on her neck. She swam as hard as she could as she went through the palace. As she winded through a corridor she stopped. Floating before her was her traitorous sister, Attina. Attina's shoulders slumped. Her head hung low and she crossed her arms over her breasts. Ariel narrowed her eyes and scowled at the auburn-haired, orange-finned mermaid. She darted on past her not saying a word.

Ariel continued on through the palace and back into the darkness where the other merfolk were still singing of praise about her father. She gritted her teeth, furrowed her brow, and flared her nostrils as she left her father's palace and disappeared into the darkness of the sea.

**# # #**

Ariel rifled through her chest. She picked up her dinglehopper and tucked it under her hair band and reached back into the chest. She pulled out her leather pouch and a few pieces of seaweed that had grown through the cracked bottom of the chest. _I can't believe Attina would rat me out! As if she's so innocent!_ Ariel sat at the edge of her giant clamshell bed and tied the ends together. _I saw her with Andrina last night! I didn't rat her out! Oh, but maybe I should now!_ She threaded the seaweed through a small loop coming from the leather pouch and tied the other ends together. She placed the seaweed around her shoulder and let the leather pouch hang from her person like a satchel. She calmed. _That wouldn't be fair to Andrina, though..._

Before Ariel could swim away from her bedchamber, Sebastian called out to her. "Ariel...!"

Ariel turned her head, her hair whipping through the water slowly, majestically. Hearing Sebastian's voice, her anger returned. "I'm not going back, Sebastian. Tell my father I'm done living under his dominion. I want a life of my own. I will prove to him that mermaids _can_ live on the surface."

Sebastian gasped. "Ariel, you mustn't!"

"I'm tired to being treated like a child, Sebastian. Eric was one person. They're not all as bad as he was. There were others in Glowerhaven who were nice and beautiful and caring. Not all humans are terrible. There's someone out there for me, Sebastian, and he's caring and loyal and wise and—"

"Human," Sebastian muttered sadly.

Ariel stared off into the dark abyss. She hung her head low and whispered to herself, "There _is_ someone out there for me..."

"Ariel, why can't you just find a nice, young merman to wed and let your father be happy?"

"Because I'm tired of doing everything _he_ wants me to do! This is my life, Sebastian! He doesn't get to control it. My mother would want me to be happy and right now and I'm not happy. Look, I'm grateful to have been rescued from Glowerhaven, I truly am, but ever since I was rescued my father has done everything in his power to make sure I never go back to the surface."

"Your father loves you very much, Ariel. That's why he did what he did to save you. He gave you this place away from the palace so you could enjoy your freedom."

"This isn't freedom, Sebastian. So I'm no longer living in the palace, he still monitors me daily. I want my freedom on the surface," Ariel whined. She extended her arm and grabbed Sebastian with her hand, gently. She pulled him in for a hug. "I'm going to miss you."

Sebastian squirmed between Ariel's arms and her breasts. His voice was muffled. "Where will you go?"

Ariel let loose of her father's servant. "I don't know." She looked to the surface far above her. "I just want to be up there. I want to prove that I can take care of myself. I want to feel love again. I want to feel the way I felt about Eric when I first laid eyes on him. I want to find my prince."

Sebastian settled to the surface of Ariel's bed. "What do I tell the King?" he murmured dolefully.

"Tell him I swam away," Ariel said with the same inflection in her voice as Sebastian's. Her eyes dropped to the seafloor. "Tell him I need to make a life of my own."

Ariel thrust herself up off of her bed. She floated in the water, turning to her father's servant—her friend. She lifted her hand, curling her fingers at Sebastian. The crab waved a pincer back at the princess. She turned forward and swam away; disappearing into the cold, still darkness.

"I'll miss you, too," Sebastian said, his voice low and fading into the void that was the abyss.

**# # #**

Ariel swam through the dark depths feeling the water against her skin and scales. Her hair glided behind her majestically and her tail whipped up and down, thrusting her through the salty seawater. She swam with haste for fear that her father may try and stop her should she slow down. Images of everything she'd be leaving behind settled in her mind and she noticed her bottom lip trembling. She didn't like the thought of leaving behind her sisters, her father, Sebastian... her family, her home. She wanted to be free, though, and the only way to be free was to live her life away from the merfolk who kept her trapped like a prisoner.

She twirled through the water and did her best to cheer herself up. She forced her bottom lip to quit trembling and she replaced her pout with a smile. She giggled at the thought of living at the surface. She giggled at the thought of telling Scuttle the good news.

_Oh, Scuttle...! He'll be so happy to see me! We haven't seen each other in ages it seems!_ Her eyes softened and her pout returned. _I just wish Flounder could be here with me..._ Ariel lingered on the thought for a moment before shaking her head. _No! Flounder was careful and protective and cautious, but he would have wanted me to be happy._

Ariel whipped her tail and headed for the glowing surface.

_This is for Flounder!_

She beat her tail harder and faster in the water, propelling herself closer and closer to the shimmering surface. The green dark-sea vision faded as natural colors appeared to her due to the sun's beaming light.

_This is for my mother!_

Ariel smiled and inhaled a deep breath of water, allowing her gills to do their magic. She extended her arms far in front of her head and broke through the surface of the water. Her body sailed through the warm, cool air and the sun's golden light beat down on her glistening skin and scales. She sparkled like the stars in the blackest parts of the sky.

She shouted jovially, "This is for me!"

She broke through the surface of the water heading back into the sea. She curved her tail and beat it downward with phenomenal strength and ejected herself upward and out of the water yet again. Beads of water flew through the air and off of her hair and her tail as she dived under water yet again. She giggled and smiled widely feeling the warm rays of the sun beat down on her back and tail.

She flipped over onto her back and floated on the surface of the water. She inhaled a deep breath from the still, cool air above the surface and watched as her chest rose with each breath and then collapsed with each exhale. It only then occurred to her that her breasts still ached. They were still confined in her undersized, seashell bra. She reached behind her back and undid the seaweed that kept them covering her full, round breasts. She tossed the bra off into the sea and it sank into the deep, dark void. Her breasts were free and the aching went away. She lay on the surface enjoying the warm glow from the Sun.

It didn't last too long, though. Ariel picked up on the currents in the water. They were coming directly at her and she opened her eyes. She whipped her tail beneath her and floated in the water, keeping only her head and her arms above the surface. A large, wooden vessel tore through the calm waters of the sea. Ariel dived and watched as the vessel sailed above her. She marveled at it, having only ever seen Eric's ship from underneath. She beat her tail and chased after it.

_A ship! If there's a ship that means there are people on board. If there are people on board then that means my prince could up there!_ Ariel's eyes widened and her mouth stretched open. Her mouth slowly closed and her eyes narrowed. _I have to be cautious, though. I don't want to wind up with another man like Eric only to have my father come to my rescue again. He'll never let me leave his side ever again._

Ariel watched as the ship cut through the water and traveled away from her. _It can't hurt to follow it, though._ Ariel's destitute look gave way to a guile grin. _After all, where ships go people are sure to be._ Ariel beat her tail in the water and took off after the ship, trailing behind it a good ways.

The ship slowed momentum as the Sun disappeared beneath the horizon and into the underworld. As darkness enveloped the sky and sea, Ariel relied on her dark-sea vision to keep her floating with the ship. She looked up through the surface of the water and saw large, white sails drawn and capturing the cool, breezy air. Ariel poked her head out of the water and stuck her tongue in the air. She could sense a storm was coming and she noticed the ship was heading directly into it.

**# # #**

Ariel's leather pouch whipped against her hip as the water picked up momentum all around her. The cool, breezy air above the surface had become violent and lightning flashed and danced through the dark sky. A loud boom echoed through the air and ruptured through the surface of the water, causing Ariel to cover her fin-like ears. The pattering sound of rain hitting the surface of the sea caused Ariel to look above her. The sky flashed again and another loud boom followed.

The sea had come alive with the storm. Water retracted from the ship and then curled upon itself crashing into the wooden vessel. The ship rocked back and forth and the violent wind ripped through its many sails. The ship was having a hard time staying flat on the surface as the water and wind bullied it without mercy.

Ariel came to the surface. The screams of men aboard the vessel caught her ears even more so than the loud thunder. Everything was cast in a green hue except for when the lightning lit up the sky and her surroundings. She noticed the screams were becoming less and less as she heard the surface of the water breaking. It sounded the same as when she would jump out of the water and dive back in. That's when she realized what was happening.

_The sea is devouring them!_

Ariel dove under water and searched for the men. She noticed several of them kicking their feet trying their best to stay above the surface. She knew enough about humans—having previously been one herself—to know that they couldn't breathe underwater. Ariel quickly took off after the men in an attempt to rescue them. She wasn't sure how she'd be able to save all of them as there seemed to be more than just a few floating in the water the closer she got to the ship.

Suddenly, out the darkness beneath her something caught her eye. She looked beneath her and what she feared most in the vast sea had come to reign terror upon the helpless men floating in the violent water.

Sharks.

Sharks came from the dark depths and swam to the surface with malicious intent. They began plucking men from the surface and dragging them through the dark water, clouds of blood spewing in their wake. Ariel beat her tail harder doing her best to try and save the other men. One by one each man was plucked away from the surface in a cloud of crimson and drowning screams.

Ariel darted through the water avoiding the clouds of blood. The surface of the water broke as another man fell through the water screaming. Ariel managed to grab hold of him around his chest and he shrieked, but the water distorted his voice. Together, Ariel and the man broke through the surface and he took in a deep breath of air.

"My Queen! Your Majesty!"

Ariel shook her head in confusion. "I'm not a queen," she said. "I got you, though. I'll save y—"

"The water!"

The man trembled next to Ariel's body. His arm shook as it clutched around her half skin-half scale body. She felt his heart pounding in his chest as if trying to escape. He was too petrified to realize that his savior wasn't exactly human. His other arm was pointed in the air over her right shoulder. It trembled, too.

Ariel turned her head to see a monstrous wave roaring toward the ship from which the man had fallen. Lightning flashed across the black canvas that was the night sky illuminating the wave. Ariel had seen many waves like this before and each time they were aimed at a ship, the ship never survived.

"Big breath," Ariel shouted.

The man took in a deep breath and Ariel submerged along with her man. She flapped her tail hard doing her best to escape the sea's torment. She surfaced on the other side of the ship. The man wiped his eyes and in horror he yelled, "Your Majesty!" as the wave moved closer and closer to the ship.

Suddenly, the man shrieked again and was pulled from Ariel's grasp and dragged underwater. A cloud of crimson bloomed out all around Ariel's body and she gasped in terror. She moved out of the way of the blood and dived underwater again chasing after the man. Blood spewed from the shark's mouth that had her man underwater. It let go of his body. He floated limp and lifeless in the sea.

There was nothing more Ariel could do for him. She hovered in the water and watched in terror at the carnage all around her. The green sea had become red with death.

The water moved about frantically with the sea's wrath. She watched as the large wave barreled into the side of the wooden vessel. She listened and watched as wood cracked and the sails along with the mainmast came tumbling down. The large, thick pole crashed into the surface of the ship and then penetrated the surface of the raging sea, sinking quickly.

The ship had become quiet as no one was left aboard it to scream and cry out for their life. Ariel watched as the pole sunk deeper and deeper into the abyss and that's when she noticed it. There was something under the sail, trapped, struggling to get free!

Ariel's eyes widened and she dived to the sinking pole. She struggled at ripping the flax sail, but it wouldn't give. Ariel maneuvered her way around the white flax material and found a gap that gave her an entrance. She started to wriggle her way through when two pieces of ice floated out. She furrowed her brow and continued inside the twisted sail. Someone struggled inside and Ariel couldn't quite reach them. She wriggled her scaly tail through the flax material and managed to untwist the sail and just as she did the body of the person struggling went limp.

Ariel didn't give up, though.

She wrapped an arm around the thin frame and beat her tail in the crashing waters. She made her way to the surface avoiding debris that had fallen from the broken ship. She burst through the surface and lifted the anonymous person's head above the sloshing water. She quickly looked around for something to put her survivor into. In the distance was something floating. She narrowed her eyes and stared at it intently.

"A boat," Ariel shouted, realizing what it was she was staring at.

She kept her arm clenched around her survivor and swam through the currents. The storm was dying down and the winds were becoming less harsh. The water was getting easier to travel in. She made quick progress to the tiny, wooden boat and when she reached it she extended her free arm out and grabbed the side of it. She lifted herself partway out of the water and tossed her survivor into the boat. The survivor rolled to the center of the boat and Ariel let go falling back into the water. She turned around feeling proud.

_I did it. I saved someone. I saved them from the water and I saved them from the sharks!_

Ariel huffed, took in considerable amounts of water, sucking the oxygen out with her gills. Her tail lay still as she yawned. She wanted to sleep, but she knew she had to get away from the wreckage of the ship and the sharks that lay somewhere out there.

Ariel lifted her arms above her head and placed her palms against the bottom of the boat. She beat her tail, but then stopped. Something caught her attention in the corner of her eye. She turned her head to see a pointy, gray snout bearing sharp, jagged teeth beneath it. She froze as fear enveloped her. A shark lay still in the water a couple fathoms from her.

Ariel's heart pounded in her chest. Her hands quivered. She took her chance. She beat her tail as hard and as fast as she could while keeping her palms pressed to the underbelly of the boat. The shark took off after her.

Swimming while pushing a boat was something she had never done before. It was exhausting and her arms and her tail were both growing tired very quickly. The shark was relentless though. It kept after the mermaid.

It chomped its jaws as it grew closer and closer to Ariel's turquoise tail. When she felt the water pulsing from the shark behind her, she let loose of the boat and let it sail through the water. She spiraled through the water and the shark went over her. She grabbed it from underneath and beat her tail in to it.

"Leave us alone!" Ariel shouted continuously whipping her tail against the belly of the shark.

The shark stopped and twisted about in the water, causing Ariel to lose grip. It opened its jaws and attempted to take a bite out of Ariel. She reached in her hair and pulled her dinglehopper free from her makeshift seaweed-and-shell tiara. As the shark lunged at her she thrust the prongs of the fork into the shark's eye. The grey, carnivorous behemoth twisted and cried out in pain as blood spewed from its ruptured eye. Ariel darted off into the sea toward the boat. She lifted her hands and pushed it through the water far from the shark.

As the Sun began to rise from the underworld and cast its light far into the canvas of the sky and across the calm sea, Ariel found herself too weak to push on any further. She slowed the boat until it came to a stop. She wanted to take a look at her survivor, but she was too tired and too weak to lift herself to see over the side of the boat. Her eyes fluttered as she felt sleep consuming her being. She took in a deep breath and curled up beneath the boat. She floated in the water and before she let sleep whisk her away, she looked around one last time to make sure she and her survivor were safe. The water was calm and all was quiet. She smiled. _I saved someone. I saved my prince. _Then, her heavy lids closed and she fell into oblivion.


	4. Chapter 3: Lost

**.**

* * *

**Chapter 3: Lost**

* * *

**(Elsa)**

Elsa coughed, spitting sea water from her mouth. She twisted over onto her stomach and coughed again, clearing all of the water from her aching lungs. She gasped for air. Being trapped underwater she didn't think she'd ever get the chance to feel oxygen filling her lungs again. She didn't waste her opportunity, though. She took in several deep breaths, one after another.

Elsa rested on her hands and knees. Her hair was disheveled and grainy with salt. What was once put back in an elegant braid was now hanging all around her face and down her still-sodden back. Her gown clung to her skin like tight leather. Had she not been blessed—or perhaps cursed?—with her ice magic, she was sure she'd be shivering and possibly threatening fate with the possibility of hypothermia. Luckily, the cold didn't bother her. Being soaked and covered in grainy sea salt did, however.

_ Where am I?_ Elsa thought.

The gray light coming from the horizon was enough to let Elsa know that the sun was just now rising. Elsa searched her surroundings for anything familiar, but there was only water—lots and lots of water. And, the boat that she was now sitting it. "Did I die?" she asked herself, her voice quavering. "Surely I can't be alive. I drowned..."

Her hands trembled as if she hadn't eaten in days. Her last known thought before waking up was being twisted and trapped in the thick, heavy sails of the ship. Water had enveloped her, causing her lungs to cry out for oxygen. It was dark and she had been on the verge of death. Surely this couldn't be life? She had to have been dead.

A light breeze blew across the calm seawater and she inhaled another deep breath. As it all flashed back to her, she took in several deep breaths, her heart pounding in her chest as she thought about the water enveloping her, constricting and denying her the chance to breathe. Not wanting to take the air around her for granted, she kept taking in deep, long breaths. As she did, her heart slowed and she calmed herself.

_Maybe I'm not dead?_ she pondered. _But, how did I..._

She sat back on one of the wooden benches in the small life boat. The breeze halted and air became still and all was silent. There was something eerie about being all alone out on the vast open sea. How did she get in the boat? Who rescued her? _And why did they just leave me here?_

As the sun lifted above the horizon, more and more of the sea became visible. There was literally nothing around her other than water. She wasn't even sure how far she was from her sunken ship. Was she directly over it? Was she miles away from it? _How did I get in this boat?_ That one question was at the forefront of her mind and she eagerly wanted an answer to it. Though, being out on the sea all alone, she feared she wouldn't find one.

"Hello!" Elsa shouted. Her voice echoed and then faded. Not a single reply. "Hello!" she shouted again.

She shifted around in the small life boat. Water was everywhere. Even living in a castle that overlooked a fjord, Elsa still hadn't seen so much water in her life. Traveling across the seas never seemed this bad either, especially since she always had someone to talk to. Now she was alone. Alone with the sea as her only companion—the companion that had killed her entire crew and left her abandoned and somehow alive—and it was vast and it was endless.

Elsa's jaw trembled. She felt tears well in her eyes. She had run away from home once, but that was for the better of her kingdom, her sister—or so she had thought at the time. Had she wanted to return, she could have, but now… now she wasn't so sure. Would she die out on the sea? Would she suffer the same fate as her parents? The thought of her parents brought more tears to her eyes and she began to hyperventilate.

Elsa stood frantically in the middle of the life boat. Her voice quavering, she shouted again, "Hello!" The boat began to rock back and forth causing the Queen of Arendelle to gasp in terror and she quickly sat back down on the wooden bench in the middle of the life boat. "Please," she whimpered, "someone help me…"

She sighed, wiping her eyes. Crying wouldn't be of any use in getting home. She needed to calm herself if she wanted any hope of surviving. Elsa was lost out at sea and she had to accept that. She had no idea where she was or how far from her sunken ship she was or even how far from Corona she even was. There was nothing to tell her of her location. It didn't help that she knew barely anything of coordination and traveling by sea. She always relied on her captain for that part of travel. Though, one thing she did know was that the Sun always rose from the east. With that bit of knowledge she could use that to make her way north and hopefully back home to Arendelle.

On either side of the small life boat were wooden oars. Elsa had never honestly paddled a boat, but she had seen other people do it from her window overlooking the fjord in her bedroom as a child. It never looked too hard. _Put the oars in the water, push, lift, and repeat._

She leaned over to the edge of the boat and stared down into the water. The sun's golden light brought a beautiful green hue to the surface of the sea causing it to glisten and sparkle. Beneath the surface, the water grew darker the further down it went until darkness consumed everything. Though lost and dreading her situation, she couldn't deny how beautiful the sea really was… and just how deadly it could be.

Elsa grabbed the handles of the oars and dipped them into the water, pushing, lifting, and repeating. It was difficult to maneuver at first, but once she got the hang of it the boat began to glide through the calm water. She got into the swing of it and began rowing away with ease. Her next stop would be Arendelle, or so she hoped.

**# # #**

**(Ariel)**

The sun was still in the east, rising to its peak at noon. Its warm glow cascaded down on the surface of the sea, warming the water. The air was stagnant and the sky was blue without a single cloud in sight. A few fathoms below the surface of the sea lay Ariel curled up in a ball, her arms wrapped around her emerald green tail with her fin as a makeshift pillow. While sleeping, she had sank a bit from where she had taken her resting spot directly under the boat of her rescued prince.

The water was still and all was silent surrounding Ariel's little spot. Her tail twitched as she dreamt about rescuing her prince again. It was something she would always remember and cherish. It was how she met the first love of her life, Eric. His ship had been caught out in a storm and struck by lightning, causing it to go up in flames. When she saw the handsome prince of Glowerhaven struggling to reach the surface, she intervened. He had passed out, but luckily she had gotten to him just in time to rescue him. She brought him to shore and admired his beauty, singing to him with her sweet, melodic voice that she had no doubt inherited from her mother.

"It's gone!" The voice grew louder and louder as it approached Ariel. "It's gone! It's gone!"

Ariel's eyes fluttered open. She uncurled herself and stretched her tail and her arms and bent her back, thrusting her breasts out to stretch her spine. Her mother's leather pouch that Ariel had made into a satchel still hung at her hip. Her red hair floated all around her head and in her face. Ariel grabbed her satchel and opened it. She pulled out her decorative clamshell-seaweed hair band and the dried out starfish she kept fastened behind her left ear. She tied the hair band in her hair keeping her bangs out of her eyes and she attached the starfish to a tuft of hair behind her left ear.

Ariel yawned taking in a mouthful of wonderful seawater. It was normally cool, but with the sun beating down on the surface the water around her was now warmer than usual. Her tail glistened and sparkled in the sunlight as it broke through the surface and refracted in the water. Ariel always enjoyed the look of her tail with light beaming off of it. She liked to pretend that she was one of the Biolumiere—an ancient race of merfolk that were able to use their tails as a source of light. They often glowed with such majestic colors that the whole sea would stop to stare at them. They were incredibly intelligent and perceived as fiercely territorial, highly dangerous, and quite deadly. They were also regarded as the most beautiful merfolk in all of the oceans and seas. They lived further down south and took residence in the deepest, darkest parts of the oceans. Sunlight meant nothing to them.

"It's gone! It's gone!" A blue Tang fish came swimming hastily toward Ariel.

"What's"—Ariel yawned again—"gone?"

A blue fish swam around Ariel in a hurry. It was almost flat vertically in appearance. It had a black stripe that ran along its lateral line, which was the top of its body near the dorsal fin, and to its caudal fin—the tail fin—which was all yellow. Its pectoral fin was blue like its body with a small yellow stripe at the edge of both fins. They were truly beautiful fish with their blue and yellow color schemes and they were also regarded as a delicacy in Atlantica. Seeing the fish swim around her, Ariel's stomach began to growl. Hunger was settling in and had the fish been paying any attention whatsoever it surely would have run from the mermaid rather than run toward her.

"It's gone! It's gone!" The fish continued to circle Ariel. It stopped to admire the satchel hanging from the seaweed strap around Ariel's neck, then it began circling the mermaid again.

"What's gone?" shouted Ariel.

The fish stopped circling Ariel. It faced the surface. "The creature that sits on the surface! It's gone! We're free!"

Ariel furrowed her brows. Her red hair floated around her face as she looked up to the surface. "What was on the surface? What kind of creature of was it?"

"What?" asked the blue Tang.

"The surface," said Ariel, "what was up there?"

The blue Tang shifted its eyes as if it was confused. "What are you talking about?"

"The surface!" shouted Ariel. "What was on the surface?"

The blue Tang's eyes widened. It backed away from Ariel. "You're—you're a mermaid," it stammered.

Ariel sighed, putting her face in her hands. She was getting nowhere with this fish. Then, it hit her. Her eyes widened and she looked to the surface again. Only the clear blue sky and the large, yellow sun were above her. The boat was nowhere in sight. She gasped.

"The boat! Where's the boat?!"

"The boat! The boat!" The blue Tang began swimming madly around Ariel, darting through her flowing red hair and spiraling around her body until it reached the tip of her tail. "Where's the boat?!"

"Stop it," Ariel screamed. "You're not helping! It's gone. Where did the boat go?"

The blue Tang paused and took in a breath as if to speak, but then halted. It flapped its tail fin. "What's a boat?"

Ariel's eyes were wide, her nostrils flared, her face as red as her hair. She clenched her fists until her knuckles were white. "You're a useless fish! I _should_ eat you!"

"If you eat me, then that no longer makes me useless, but rather use_ful_." The blue Tang swam up to Ariel's belly and floated next to her skin. It could hear the growling of Ariel's stomach. "Yep, yep, you're definitely hungry. You should get something to eat—OH! I'm Doria by the way! I've never met a fish like you before. You look weird, almost like you're a human and a fish, but if that were the case, then you'd be a"—Doria paused, realizing for the second time what Ariel was—"mermaid..." Doria screamed. "Don't eat me! Don't eat me!" Doria swam off into the void of the sea screaming, "Don't eat me!"

Ariel's nostrils were still flared and her face still red. The fish had given her no useful information about her prince and where he may have gone. She was happy to be rid of the fish, though. _I need to find that boat._

A few fathoms away from her were a school of mackerel. Their silvery scales glistened with the light permeating the surface. Ariel swam over to them hoping to not scare them away. When they caught a glimpse of her they all dispersed.

"Mermaid!" they all shouted in unison.

"No, wait, I'm not going to eat—oh, it's no use! I don't eat _every_ fish I come across, you know," Ariel shouted as the mackerel all swam away from her.

Ariel floated to the surface where the water was considerably warmer. She broke through the surface and her red hair clung to her cheeks, neck, and shoulders. Her prince was nowhere to be found, though. _Hopefully a whale didn't carry off with the boat_, Ariel thought. _Do whales do that? Do they randomly carry small boats away?_ She shrugged not knowing the answer to her own question. "My prince!" shouted Ariel. "Where have you gone, my prince?"

The water rippled behind Ariel and she quickly turned. Her arms and breasts floated on top of the warm, calm water. Her tail gently swayed beneath her. Whatever had caused the ripple hadn't been her. She tensed up fearing another shark may be near. She submerged to get a better look through the water. Her red hair floated above her head like anemone and then something silvery darted directly in front of her, startling the mermaid.

The silver creature glistened near the surface. It darted upward and launched itself out of the sea and into the air. The water rippled in a different area as the creature returned to the water. It turned and made its way to Ariel. It had a long snout with three fins—two pectoral fins on either side of its body and a dorsal fin on its spine—and a flattened tail fin. Ariel recognized the creature.

"You're a dolphin!"

"Last time I checked, I most certainly was," said the dolphin.

"Did you happen to see a boat at any time this morning? And if you did, would you be able to point me in the direction it went?" asked Ariel.

Ariel was fortunate to have met a dolphin. While many of the smaller fish were petrified of mermaids (for fear that that may be eaten), dolphins on the other hand were loyal friends of the merfolk. The dolphin squealed.

"Was it a small wooden boat?"

"Yes," Ariel shouted, finally happy to get somewhere on her news with the boat and her prince. "It was sitting right up here," Ariel said pointing to the spot above her. "There was a human I rescued last night from a ship wreck and then a shark almost got him. I managed to get away and once the ocean was all clear, I wanted to take a short nap to gather my strength back. I guess I slept longer than I wanted... Anyways, the boat is gone now and I don't know where my prince went. Did you happen to see where he went?"

The dolphin jabbed its snout to the north. "The boat went that way."

Ariel faced north. "Of course, it went north. That ship was heading north. Why would my prince not head north as well? That makes total sense."

"Yep," said the dolphin. "I guess not all mermaids can be the smartest of the bunch."

"Hey," Ariel whined, taking offense to that.

"Now where did that school of mackerel go?" The dolphin swam off into the warm sea in search of breakfast.

Ariel had hoped that nothing had gotten her prince and that maybe he had just floated away. Though, since the storm last night, the weather had been rather calm. _Maybe he swam away himself?_ Ariel beat her tail in the water and made her way north.

**# # #**

_Where could he have gone? I've been swimming for what feels like hours. Surely I should have seen the boat by now?_

Ariel swam through the warm water keeping a watchful eye out for the boat. It was nowhere to be seen, though. While swimming north, she passed several schools of fish, all of which dispersed when they noticed her. She wasn't focused on them, though, even if her stomach did continuously remind her of how much it wanted to be fed. She was focused on her search. She was determined to find her prince.

The sun was at its peak, high in the sky. Its warm, gentle glow from the mid-morning had been replaced with hot, golden rays that cascaded over the surface of the sea. Ariel enjoyed the sun for it kept her body warm, not that being cold ever bothered her. Living in the cold depths of the sea down in Atlantica, she was naturally used to the cold water. Her body temperature always ran cooler than that of a human's. Whereas most humans would die of hypothermia if exposed to the seawater for too long, Ariel found it welcoming and homely. She had to admit that as much as she had wanted to be human before, the sea would always be her home even if she did want to live on her own and near the surface—away from her father's watchful eye.

When Ariel was a human living in Glowerhaven she had always enjoyed being outside. She loved being on the beach and admiring the ocean from the human's perspective. She felt less homesick when she was on the beach. She often was visited by close friends such as Scuttle and Sebastian and Flounder. Of course, all of that had changed when Prince Eric ordered a wall to be built around the kingdom. The wall prevented Ariel from returning to the beach, but more importantly for Eric, it kept her under a close eye when it came to her husband, the prince of Glowerhaven.

At the thought of Flounder and her two years as a human, Ariel's determination began to wane. _What am I doing? It's because of Eric—a human!—that Flounder isn't here any longer. I lost my best friend because I wanted to be with the humans on the surface. Yet here I am in search of another human so I can—what?—make the same mistake? Maybe father was right? Maybe mermaids don't belong on the surface? Maybe this is all futile and pointless? What if I lose another friend because of my search for this human? I can't take another loss like that._

Ahead of Ariel a familiar figure began to take shape along the surface of the water. She continued forward making sure to stay just low enough in the sea that she wouldn't be made out as anything more than a common fish. As she approached the figure she recognized the wood from the bottom of the boat as that of her prince's. She had found him. It was most definitely her prince!

_Maybe he won't be like Eric?_ Ariel thought, optimistically.

The boat was idle; the sea calm. Ariel swam up underneath the boat, making sure to stay aligned with the shadow it cast. She didn't want to scare her prince by being mistaken for a shark or another predatory sea creature. She really wanted to see him, though. She wanted to see the man she had saved from the terrible storm the night before. But, did she dare to make her presence known? Did she dare to surface and gaze upon her strong, handsome prince?

In the rush of trying to save him from drowning and to save him from being shark bait, Ariel really hadn't gotten a chance to see him before. She imagined what he looked like, though.

_I bet he has long, dark hair—oh! Or, perhaps he is blonde?—No, wait!—maybe he has red hair like me? Oh, I like that! Okay, he has shoulder-length red hair. His eyes are, um, blue like the ocean. He probably has broad shoulders and muscular arms because what prince doesn't look like that? His voice is probably deep yet gentle. He's caring and thinks of others. His name is Frederick—no!—Ricard—no, wait!—_Ariel gripped the satchel hanging at her hip and remembered the name that her mother had told her that was once embroidered across the now worn leather—_his name is James. James is the name of my valiant prince._

Ariel's heart fluttered in her chest. A rush of warm tingles balled in the pit of her stomach that, from when she was a human, she had learned were called butterflies. Her tail tingled at the thought of her new prince. She bit down on her lower lip softly and giggled to herself. _James, my prince. That's it, I have to see him!_

Ariel placed her hand on the underside of the boat. She slowly guided herself to the side of the small, floating vessel. She did her best to be as silent as possible. The tip of her nose broke through the surface. Following that her face emerged. She didn't want to join _James_ in the boat just yet. She just wanted to get a good look at him. As she inched her way up the side of the boat, she finally was able to gaze upon her new prince.

He was facing the opposite direction as Ariel. His hair wasn't short and red, but rather long, blonde, and a wild mess. It parted in all directions along his back. It had most likely been caused by the seawater, Ariel figured. While both merfolk and humans had hair, merfolk hair was more accustomed to the roughness of the seawater whereas human hair wasn't able to take it quite as well. The salt often left human hair dried and grainy, as if they had sand in their hair.

Ariel continued to gaze upon _James_. He wasn't nearly as broad or as muscular as she had imagined. In fact, for being a man he had a rather thin and petite figure. Also, his clothes weren't like that of a prince's. They were baby blue and hung loosely from his body. He was wearing a gown that Ariel had often seen the women in the castle at Glowerhaven wear at night. _James_ turned around without warning and Ariel froze.

Their eyes locked. It was in that moment that Ariel had realized that her prince was not in fact a prince at all. Her prince was a woman! Her face was thin and her skin was red as if burnt by the sun. Her eyes were as blue as the ocean. No wonder she had such a petite frame and was wearing women's clothing. _James_ was a woman! Ariel quickly submerged.

"Wait!" the woman shouted.

Ariel hid beneath the belly of the boat, making sure to stay out of sight of the woman she had mistaken for a prince. Ariel's heart pounded in her chest. Her cheeks were red with embarrassment. She whipped her tail back and forth due to anxiety.

_How could I be so stupid?_ Ariel thought. _Of course he wasn't a prince—er, she!_ _Of course _she_ wasn't a prince! How could I ever have hoped to have had that kind of luck!_ Ariel began smacking the palm of her hand against her forehead. _Stupid. Stupid. Stupid!_

The water rippled on the side of the boat where Ariel had surfaced. Fingers danced through the water. "Come back," the woman had pleaded. "Where did you go?"

Ariel had to admit, though, this woman did have a beautiful voice. And those eyes, they were gorgeous. Even her hair was something Ariel admired, even if it was a tangled mess. She wanted to wet it and braid it and decorate it with seaweed and clamshells. _Maybe I should give her a chance? At best I get a new friend out of it. Besides, I did save her life._

"Please, join me in my boat! I have room for another!"

_Oh, okay, I'll be up there!_ Ariel grinned. _Here goes!_

Ariel pushed herself out from under the boat, her head resurfacing. Her tail floated under the boat. The woman in the boat gazed down at the redhead. "Where did you come from?" asked the woman.

"The sea," Ariel replied.

The woman in the boat chuckled. "Well, my name is Elsa." She extended her hand, offering to help Ariel into the boat. "I have plenty of room up here for you. You can get out of the water and tell me exactly where you came from and where you're heading. If there's land anywhere around here, please feel free to point me in that direction."

Ariel took Elsa's hand. Her skin was cool to the touch, despite her face, arms, and hands being burnt. Her skin was soft and smooth. Upon touching the blonde in the boat, Ariel's heart began to flutter again. What was this feeling?

Elsa grabbed hold of the side of the boat for leverage and pulled Ariel up. "What do you have down there," Elsa joked between deep breaths, "an anchor?"

Ariel came out of the water and landed in the small life boat. Her red hair clung to her neck, shoulders, and exposed breasts. Her leather pouch hung from her hip and the seashell hair band managed to keep her bangs out of her eyes. The sun's hot glow beat down on her cool skin and sent several tingles down her spine. She giggled. She sat back in the boat with her tail hanging over the edge. She turned her attention to Elsa who was sitting at the opposite end of the boat with her mouth agape and her eyes wide.

It suddenly dawned on Ariel that mermaids were nothing more than folklore to humans who had never seen them before. Based on Elsa's expression, Ariel had guessed that she was one of the humans who _hadn't_ ever seen a mermaid.

Elsa stammered, "You're—you're a... a mer... mer"—Elsa choked on her words.

"—mermaid?" said Ariel, cowering away from Elsa in fear of what she may do to the princess of the sea.

Elsa screamed which caused Ariel to scream. Ariel beat her tail and did her best to quickly escape the boat. Unfortunately, as she tried to escape, the boat thrashed from side to side and then capsized. Ariel was back in the water as was a frightened Elsa. The blonde panicked which caused her to sink further into the sea. Ariel dove after her and grabbed her. Elsa tried to get away, but Ariel's grasp was too strong for the blonde. She continued to panic until she passed out. Ariel brought the blonde to the surface and flipped the boat right side up. She tossed Elsa into it and then disappeared into the sea once again.


	5. Chapter 4: Mermaids are Real

**.**

* * *

**Chapter 4: Mermaids are Real**

* * *

**(****Elsa****)**

_Elsa's eyes fluttered open to the familiar sight of her bedchamber. Magenta drapes hung from the canopy above her bed. Two small, matching, magenta pillows rested on either side of the Queen, both tucked up under her arms resting in the crooks of her armpits. A soft, baby blue sheet covered her body. She felt calm, warm, and at home laying in her own bed._

_The warm, golden glow of sunlight poured through Elsa's massive triangular window that overlooked the fjord, reminding her of the times as a child before she was locked away in her room when she would look out the window and see all of the ships docked at the harbor, readying for some sort of celebration. Those were some good times, Elsa had thought. She had enjoyed spending time with her sister and when she was forced to give all of that all on account of her powers, it crushed her. She cried to see the castle, to see the kingdom, but most importantly of all, she just wanted to spend time with her best friend, her loving sister, Anna. Being back in her bed brought all of those memories rushing back to her. Elsa's eyes welled with tears._

She _sniffled and pushed past the agonizing memories._ All of that is behind me now. I've gotta find Anna,_ Elsa thought. She tried to shift, but to no avail. She turned her head to see a young woman sitting on the edge of her bed. A moment ago she was alone in her room. It was as if the young woman had appeared out of thin air. Dressed in a beautiful blue summer dress with golden and orange marigolds sewn into the material, Elsa immediately recognized the dress as her sister's. "Anna," Elsa said, "can you help me? I want to get out of bed. I can't seem to move for some reason."_

_Anna turned her head to Elsa. She smiled and said nothing. Her red freckles dusted her bubbly cheeks and her strawberry blonde hair hung in elegantly graceful pigtails down the front of her shoulders just as she would normally have her hair. Anna turned her attention away from Elsa and back to the floor. Elsa noticed her mouth moving, but she couldn't make out what her younger sister was saying, and who she was speaking to._

_Observing her sister, Elsa noticed Anna was holding a small, wooden basin. Anna dipped her fingers into the wooden bowl and then flicked her fingers at Elsa. Droplets of water splashed in Elsa's face causing the Queen to flinch. She furrowed her brows and attempted to wipe her face. Her arms wouldn't move, though. They were trapped under the sheet covering her body. "Anna!" Elsa said, her voice showing annoyance. "I can't move. Help me, please."_

_Anna continued talking to whoever was in the room with them, her voice still muted._

_"Anna! Look at me. Help me!"_

_Anna dipped her fingers into the wooden basin again. She pointed her hand at Elsa and flicked them, droplets of water splashing Elsa in the face. Elsa snorted._

_"Anna!"_

_Anna's hand went back in the basin. She lifted her hand and water dripped from her fingers. Elsa tried to move. She tried to squirm and struggle, but her whole body felt paralyzed. Anna pointed her hand at her older sister and flicked the cool water in Elsa's face. As the droplets hit her face, she could feel the heat rising in her cheeks. She growled, "Anna, look at me!"_

_Anna still kept her attention averted from Elsa. Anna giggled silently and returned her hand to the basin. Elsa watched her hand rise from the wooden bowl, but this time she held a wet washcloth. Anna ringed it dry and handed the basin down to whoever it was she was talking to._

_In the corner of Elsa's line of sight, she noticed two thin, wooden arms reach up to grab the bowl. Recognizing the arms, Elsa shouted, relieved, "Olaf! Oh thank goodness, please tell Anna to stop splashing me in the face. And, please, help me out of bed. I can't seem to move."_

_The thin wooden arms carried the wooden basin out of Elsa's sight and Anna turned to her older sister. She smiled down at her, but remained quiet, even though her lips moved. Elsa was typically great at reading lips having grown up alone and spying on conversations from afar, relying on lip-reading as a source of knowledge. Unfortunately, Elsa couldn't read Anna's lips. They moved in such a way that was unreadable to Elsa. It was as if Anna was speaking gibberish._

_"Anna, please, help me out of bed! Why are you ignoring me?" Elsa voice was high with panic. What was this nightmare she was in? Why could no one hear her and why was her sister treating her as if she were unconscious?_

_Anna dabbed the wet cloth along Elsa's cheeks and forehead. With the backside of her other hand, she felt Elsa's cheeks. "Oh, you're so warm," said Anna. "We need to cool you down."_

_"Anna!" Elsa was relieved to hear her sister speak. "Anna, please, help me move. I can't move. I want out of bed."_

_"I'll place this here," said Anna, placing the damp cloth across Anna's forehead. "I seem to remember this doing well for those who were warm to the touch when I was a human."_

When I was a human...?_ "Anna, what are you talking about? You are human!"_

_Anna turned her attention away from Elsa once more. She went back to speaking silently. Olaf handed Anna the wooden basin. Anna dipped her fingers into the bowl and flicked more cool water at her sister._

_"Anna!" Elsa screamed. "Anna, stop it!"_

_The bed shifted and in Elsa's view came Olaf. His long, carrot nose lingered mere centimeters from Elsa's face. His beady, black eyes (that were much larger as Elsa seemed to recall) stared into her own. His mouth moved, but just like Anna, he was silent. Olaf turned around and sat next to Anna. Anna looked down at the snowman and giggled the way she always did when the little snowman would say something funny. Elsa felt tears brimming in her eyes._

_"Please, Anna, Olaf, just notice me. Say something to me. Why can't I understand you?" Her voice quavered as she spoke. _

_Just then, Olaf turned around. He stood up and observed Elsa, his eyes slowly descending to the baby blue sheet. His tiny twig fingers grabbed the hem of the sheet and pulled it back, slowly unveiling Elsa's body. Elsa could feel herself moving her limbs again. It was as if the sheet had been keeping her paralyzed to the bed. Olaf pulled the sheet back further and further, walking to the foot of the bed. Anna had stood up and smiled, as she watched her little friend uncover her sister. When the sheets were finally pulled back, Elsa lifted her head and stared down at her body._

_She was dressed in a baby blue nightgown that matched the sheet that Olaf had pulled from her. Coming out of the end of the nightgown where her legs should have been were shimmering green scales that glimmered in the sunlight, pouring into the room. Not only were they scales, but her legs were conjoined to form a scaly tail with a green, translucent fin at the end. Elsa moved her legs and the tail lifted from the bed, the fin crashing down back onto the mattress. Horrified, Elsa felt her heart beat against her chest. Olaf moved back up the bed and stood by Elsa's side. He stared down at her face, his beady black eyes staring into Elsa's. He squawked._

**_[. . .]_**

Elsa jerked awake frantically, her heart pounding against her sternum, her face drenched in sweat, the water sloshing in the sea as the boat rocked on the surface from her sudden movement. She sat up, gasping, forgetting exactly where she was. A wet, slimy piece of seaweed fell from her forehead and landed in her lap. She grabbed it with her fingers in disgust and quickly threw it into the water. As her mind came to and she realized that what she had just witnessed was all a dream and that she was still lost out at sea, her eyes settled on a fat white bird, that Elsa recognized as a seagull, sitting on the edge of the boat. With its black, beady eyes it stared at Elsa. It squawked and then took off, taking flight over the endless sea before circling around and landing at the end of the boat, behind a young woman that Elsa hadn't recognized.

She had long, wet, red hair that shined bright in the sunlight. Her eyes were as blue as the sky above them. A leather satchel hung from a green strap that appeared to be made from some grassy material that looped around the mysterious red head's neck. Her skin glistened in the warm, golden glow of the sun and as Elsa followed the woman's figure from her cute, round face down to her breasts that were covered by her red hair and over her toned belly, she realized that this was no ordinary human. A set of green translucent fins protruded from the red head's hips and the skin of her mid-section merged to form glistening green scales that made for a sleek, beautiful fish's tail.

Elsa jerked further away, cowering at the bow of the small life boat. The red head flinched at Elsa's sudden movement, bringing her arms to her chest as if to defend herself. She too had cowered away from Elsa. There was a squawk from the same bird that Elsa had awoken to. The red head looked at the bird and made some sort of chirping noise that was reminiscent of a bird's chirp. The fat, white seagull flapped its wings and flew off for good this time.

_Mermaid... I have a _real_ mermaid in my boat. I thought they were just myths, stories sailors would tell themselves so they wouldn't feel so lonely out at sea. But, there's a mermaid in my boat with me! What do I do?!_ Elsa was beside herself. Mermaids weren't supposed to be real, yet here one sat clear as day in the boat with her.

Elsa's heart was pounding against her chest. Her eyes were wide and her hands were trembling. She brought her knees up to her chest and hugged herself. Normally, when frightened she would use her magic as self-defense, but there was something different about this fear. She didn't feel fear for her life. She felt fear for the unknown. She had never encountered a mermaid before let alone did she ever actually believe they existed, but here was one in the flesh, cowering and trembling in fear just as Elsa was doing.

The mermaid spoke, her voice quavering. "I won't hurt you. I promise."

Elsa gasped. _She talks! The mermaid can speak!_ Elsa shrank back into the bow, getting as close to the edge of the boat as possible. Her eyes shifted from the mermaid to the sky and back to the mermaid. She could feel her throat bobbing as she began to speak. "Were you just talking to that bird?"

The mermaid looked in the direction that the seagull had flown toward. Only a tiny black dot existed in the horizon where the bird was. "Yes, he's my friend. His name is Scuttle."

"You're friend?! You're a mermaid! How can this be real?" Elsa felt herself beginning to hyperventilate again. Her heart was thudding against her chest. She felt lightheaded as if she may pass out again.

"I saved you," the mermaid said softly. "Your ship was caught in that storm last night and you were trapped. I rescued you." Her tensed arms loosened as if she was trying to show Elsa that she could be trusted. "You almost drowned," the mermaid said softly. "I tried to save the others, but there were sharks." The mermaid looked down and away as if reminiscing the night before. Her shoulders slumped. Elsa thought of her crew. Tears welled up in her eyes. All of her men, those tasked with protecting their Queen, had all perished. She was the sole survivor. Her jaw trembled at the thought. "I'm sorry if I scare you," the mermaid said, her voice almost at a whimper. Her tail flapped and beat at the surface of the water.

Elsa wasn't sure what to do. Mermaids had never existed to her until this day and now the first one she meets is the one to save her life? How could all of this be real? Was she still dreaming? Would Anna miraculously appear from under the sea and greet her older sister and tell her to join her down where it's wetter? Elsa shook her head. This couldn't be a dream no matter how fantastical it felt.

The mermaid surveyed Elsa warily. She brought her arms back to her chest and stared down and away from the blonde Queen. "I'll go," she said meekly.

The mermaid twisted and turned in the boat. She flapped her tail, beating it against the surface of the water. Before she could disappear into the sea, however, Elsa called out to her. "Wait!"

The mermaid, ready to dive into the water, stopped. She turned her attention to the blonde. Those beautiful blue eyes mesmerized Elsa. Her beating heart fluttered in her chest for a second as a warm tingling sensation radiated through her body. She shook her head, disrupting the allure the mermaid suddenly had on her.

"Thank you," Elsa murmured. "Thank you for saving my life."

The mermaid turned and flopped back down in the boat, her beautiful, glistening tail hanging over the edge. The corner of her lips went up slightly revealing a soft, serene smile. She held eye contact with Elsa once more. Elsa felt the allure coming on again. Something about this mermaid was just so... tantalizing. She was gorgeous despite being half a fish. The mermaid ripped her gaze from Elsa's and lowered her head again. "I'm glad I could save you," she said, her voice just as soft as before. "I wish I could have saved the others, too, but there were sharks everywhere and the water was so ravenous. I think the gods were angry. I'm glad to have saved you from their wrath, though. Saving one is better than saving none, I guess?"

"For what it's worth, I'm happy you saved me, too." Elsa still felt horrible for having lost _any_ lives at all. She was the Queen of Arendelle and those men had given their lives to make sure she had lived, yet it was a mermaid who had saved her in the end. Elsa chuckled at the irony.

"What's so funny?" asked the mermaid.

"It's nothing," Elsa said. "I just—up until now I didn't believe mermaids existed. Yet here you are sitting in my boat with me. A creature I didn't believe existed yesterday turned out to be my savior. It's just weird, you know?"

The mermaid grinned. "For what it's worth, I thought you were a man. I thought I had saved a prince. I had this whole picture in my mind of you as a man with long, red hair, broad shoulders, a muscular physique, and with eyes as blue as the ocean."

Elsa giggled, noticing herself becoming less tense as she warmed up to the mermaid. "It sounds like you described yourself as a man, or... merman? Mer_guy_?"

The mermaid laughed. "Merguy? No, it's mermen. The male merfolk are mermen. I guess I really did imagine you as a male counterpart to myself." Ariel furrowed her brows. "Does that make me vain?"

Elsa scooted out from the bow of the boat. Was she insane for feeling such immediate trust to this sea creature? Only minutes ago she was cowering in the corner of the bow afraid of this mermaid and now she was scooting closer to it—_her_, Elsa corrected. "I don't think so? Now, if you had let me drown because I wasn't the man you had pictured me as then perhaps that would have been a bit vain."

"That would have been horrible!"

Elsa smiled. "Well, thank you, nonetheless. Say, did you have a name picked out for me by any chance?"

The red head blushed. "Yes..."

"Oh, what was it?"

The mermaid folded her arms across her chest. Her cheeks still pink, she lowered her head. She unfolded her arms and picked up her satchel. "James... It was the first name that sounded correct, the name on this pouch."

Elsa laughed. "You thought my name was James? James the prince, with long red hair, broad shoulders, a muscular physique, and eyes as blue as the ocean. Wow, you were way off!"

The mermaid feigned a scowl before smiling back at Elsa. "Yeah, yeah, I was way off. So, what _is_ your name, then, if I may ask?"

Elsa ceased her laughter. She sat in the boat gazing upon the beautiful mermaid. The way the sun's light reflected off of the mermaid's tail caused it to sparkle like the stars in the night's sky. Elsa smiled. "My name is Elsa."

"Oh, such a beautiful name. And, who is Anna, again, if I may ask? You kept saying her name when you were unconscious."

Elsa took in a breath about to speak, but then stopped. She remembered her dream. "Anna is my sister. I had this weird dream that she was splashing me in the face with water and then she put a wet washcloth across my forehead. I guess I was running a fever or something?"

The mermaid giggled. "That was me! I was the one splashing you in the face. I wasn't sure what to do so Scuttle told me to throw water at you. Your skin was a bit warm to the touch, and pinkish red. I believe you humans call it a sunburn?"

"Wait, so _you_ were the one flicking water in my face?" asked Elsa.

The mermaid just nodded. "I'm sorry..."

"I wanted to punch Anna for repeatedly flicking water in my face." Elsa thought of the seaweed that had fallen in her lap upon waking up. "Did you put wet seaweed across my forehead, too?"

The mermaid nodded again. "I used to see that being done to people who were too hot and needed to cool down when I was a human. I figured since I didn't have any cloth a piece of seaweed would do?"

Elsa furrowed her brows. "Wait. Did you say you used to be human?"

"Oh, yeah..." Ariel averted her eyes from Elsa's as if she was trying to forget something awful. "It's a long story. _Magic_ was involved."

Elsa noticed Ariel's inflection on the way she had said the word 'magic'. She recognized the disdain in the word, as if she had a bad experience with sorcery in the past. _Great, I meet a mermaid for the first time and she too hates magic!_ Elsa pursed her lips and slumped her shoulders.

The mermaid perked up. "Let's not let the past get us down, though."

Elsa's eyes settled at the bottom of the boat. Her fists tightened briefly as she remembered her own negative memories resulting from her own use of magic. She pushed the thoughts from her mind and brought herself to smile. "Okay, deal," Elsa said.

The mermaid turned toward Elsa, her tail sliding around the boat and hanging over the stern as she changed positions. She propped herself up with her arms, her back bent as her hair fell away exposing her bare breasts. She smiled. "Anyways, I'm Ariel!"

Elsa's own smile faltered as her eyes fell upon Ariel's large, hanging breasts. They appeared to be as large as her own if not slightly larger. Her nipples were emerald green like her tail and the surrounding flesh—the areolas—were a mix of scale and peach-colored skin. They stood out, erect.

"You're nude," Elsa exclaimed. It was the only thing she could bring herself to say.

Ariel cocked her head. "What's nude?"

"You are!"

"No, silly, I'm Ariel. I just said that." The mermaid chuckled.

Elsa smacked the palm of her hand to her forehead. "No, I mean you're naked."

"Oh..." Ariel looked down at her chest, her breasts hanging freely. "Would you like me to cover up? I can quickly go find a couple clamshells and some seaweed and fashion myself a bra if this makes you uncomfortable?"

It wasn't until that moment that Elsa realized that she wasn't uncomfortable with Ariel's nudity. She was uncomfortable with herself for not being able to look away. Her cheeks radiated heat, and not just from the sun. Here was this gorgeous mermaid in her boat with radiant skin, perfect red hair, tantalizing blue eyes, a beautiful green tail, and now with phenomenal breasts to boot. Elsa's heart fluttered in her chest again as she took in the full sight of the mermaid.

_She's gorgeous!_

Elsa lifted her head and stared back at the mermaid's beautiful frame. Her jaw hung slack as she gazed the second time at Ariel. Her breasts tingled, her nipples hardened, and she felt a warm tingle settle in her heart and between her thighs. Elsa was enraptured with the beautiful mermaid.

She shook her head slowly. Her voice was all but a whisper as she replied, "No." Elsa had to will herself to stop staring at Ariel. When she finally managed to pry her gaze from the gorgeous sea maiden, she added, "I mean, if you don't want to."

Ariel giggled. "You're so embarrassed! I can see it all over you. You're so cute, Elsa."

Elsa smiled coyly, nibbling on her lower lip. She buried her face in her hands. _What's going on with me?! Why am I feeling this way?_ Her whole body tingled with a warm feeling. _It does feel nice, though_, she admitted to herself. Suddenly Elsa's stomach rumbled.

Ariel cocked her head. "What was that?"

Elsa grabbed her belly. "I think I'm hungry." Her stomach rumbled again, this time an empty pain filling her. "Yep, I'm hungry." Elsa looked out over the water. "Too bad there isn't anything to eat around here."

Ariel stared out at the water, her face contorted with apparent confusion. "There are all kinds of things to eat out there. Here, I'll go find material for a bra and something for us to eat. Stay here and please don't paddle away from me this time. I'll be back in a little while!"

The boat shifted and then there was a splash. The spot where the mermaid was just laying was now empty. Elsa called out to Ariel before she could disappear under the sea. "Wait! How do I know _you_ won't be the one to leave?"

Ariel cocked an eyebrow, pondering for a moment. Her eyes widened with an idea. She removed the satchel from around her shoulder and handed it to Elsa. The leather was wet and heavy and definitely worn from years of water damage. Ariel exclaimed, "That was a gift from my mother. As long as you have it, I promise to return."

Ariel submerged and before Elsa could say anything else, the mermaid disappeared from the clear water. Elsa was alone in the boat again, but this time it felt different. She _knew_ she wasn't truly alone this time. Ariel would come back and they would talk some more and get to know each other. A blush filled Elsa's cheeks as she latched onto the sodden satchel and she grinned at the thought of the beautiful, shimmering mermaid returning in just a short while.


	6. Chapter 5: Mantis Forest

**.**

* * *

**Chapter 5: Mantis Forest**

* * *

** (Ariel)**

Ariel swam through the warm seawater, her red hair flowing freely behind her, her tail beating through the still sea causing currents to ripple through the water behind her. The sea was her home and she loved being in the water, but she also enjoyed being up on the surface—floating on the water with the sun beating down on her, the cool ocean air flowing over her wet skin and shimmering tail. How could any merfolk resist wanting to be where the ocean met the sky? Of course, it helped that Ariel had a truly valid reason to enjoy the surface.

_Elsa is so wonderful! Who knew my prince would turn out to be such a pleasant, wonderful, and beautiful young woman. _Ariel grinned as she thought of her new blonde friend. _I hope I can find something deserving of Elsa. She certainly deserves something more than just the plain mackerel and tuna fish swimming around here._

The sun's golden glow beat down on the water, warming the surface and causing the sea to sparkle all around the young mermaid. Fish darted out of Ariel's way as she made her way through the water. A pod of dolphins swam overhead, their silvery bodies glimmering against the sunlight. Ariel had noticed that she had swum a long distance from Elsa's boat. It had to have been almost an hour since departing the blonde, Ariel figured. In that time she had foraged the shallow seabed for clamshells large enough for her breasts, but all of the nice ones were too small. The ones that _were_ large enough had been cracked or broken already.

As Ariel continued her search for a clamshell, she noticed the rumblings of hunger beginning to settle in her stomach. The sea was getting deeper the farther she traveled, the light becoming less and less. Up ahead, a thick forest of kelp rose from the bottom of the seabed. She stopped and thought about turning back and just telling Elsa that she couldn't find anything suitable for her bust. Why Elsa was so embarrassed at seeing her bare-breasted anyways was beyond the mermaid.

_But she gets so embarrassed seeing my breasts_, Ariel told herself. _It makes no sense. They're just breasts. We use them to feed our babies. Don't the humans use theirs for similar functions? Maybe their breasts are strictly for show? Maybe they can't use them for feeding?_ Ariel pondered the thought a few moments.

Hovering idly over the vastly expansive forest, Ariel stared down into the thick kelp. It was dark beyond the deep green kelp leaves, pitch black. Though the ocean floor had surely been limned in sunlight at one time, the kelp needed the sunlight to thrive. The higher the forest rose, the more sunlight each kelp tree would absorb; and with each tree battling for nourishment via the sunlight the more the ocean floor had become shrouded in darkness. Ariel was aware that traveling the forest alone could be potentially dangerous. She straightened her spine, furrowed her brow, and took in a deep breath. Determined to find a new bra, Ariel made her way into the green, underwater forest.

As she descended; the sunlight diminished as the kelp forest grew thicker, turning the bright sea into a dark abyss. Her dark-sea vision enabled her to see everything below her clearly. With the water darkening, fewer fish darted away from Ariel. She certainly had the upper hand if she were to opt for fish for lunch.

All around her were thick, kelp leaves swaying gently in the soft, sea currents flowing through the forest. She was careful not to move too fast she didn't want to disturb any of the creatures unknown to her that may be living in the forest. The last thing she wanted on her quest to find a bra was trouble.

As Ariel reached the floor of the underwater forest, her tail settled against the seabed knocking up loose dirt and dust along with mollusks and shrimp. She plucked a shrimp from the water and shoved it in her mouth. Shrimp had always been her favorite and it was always so plentiful and easy to find. She grinned as a shiver went down her spine, her growing hunger being slightly sated. _Eating one little shrimp won't spoil my appetite._ She plucked another shrimp from the dirt cloud and shoved it in her mouth. A wicked grin crossed her lips as she ate another shrimp_._

The dirt cloud settled as did the floating snacks. Looking ahead of her, she noticed several large rocks between the gangly stalks of kelp all with algae growing on them. There were also several clams and mussels and empty shells sitting on the seabed, but still there were none that would fit Ariel's breasts. She hovered over the seabed, with her hands on the seafloor pulling herself along while her tailfin slithered through the water like a snake, up and down.

As Ariel inched her way through the thick forest, she came across a conch shell that was roughly three times the size of her own hand. She picked it up and marveled at it. It was smooth on the surface with several sharp, pointed spires near its apex. It was masked in a green hue due to her dark-sea vision, but considering most conch shells were beautiful when in direct sunlight, she had no reason to believe that this conch was any different. _I wonder if Elsa would like this? It seems pretty enough to match her beauty._ Ariel turned it over and fingered the opening, finding that it was empty inside. _She can hold it up to her ear and listen to the sea tell her its secrets_, Ariel thought as she put the conch near her ear.

At first the conch was silent, but then it whispered, _"Beware of the Queen."_ Ariel furrowed her brow. She pulled the conch away from her ear and stared at it. "Who's the Queen? I'm not a Queen." Ariel put the conch next to her ear again, but unfortunately it was silent this time. She shrugged off the conch shell's message and holding it in her hand, she then continued her search for a clamshell for her bosom.

Ariel made her way through the green underwater foliage—the slick, smooth kelp leaves tickling her belly and her tail as she swam. Knowing she would need something to tie the clamshells together with when making her bra, Ariel moved over to a thin, barely-grown stalk of kelp—a stipe—and broke it off near its base. She stripped the long, narrow stipe of its tiny leaves and then wrapped it around her hand so it wouldn't dangle behind her, possibly getting caught on something. She continued her trek, swimming through the kelp forest admiring the forest as a whole.

A plethora of thick, lush seaweed covered the seabed. Algae covered almost everything at the bottom of the sea. Sea urchins of all colors, Ariel imagined as everything was green to her in the dark, lived anywhere they could and fish swam alongside Ariel, unafraid of what they couldn't see. Starfish rested on the algae-covered rocks at the seabed casually awaiting their next meals as several octopi had settled themselves in the dirt, hoping the mermaid wasn't craving cephalopod for dinner. Ariel passed over the sea creatures, though, despite her hunger beginning to return to her.

As she moved through the dark forest, she could see what looked to be a clearing up ahead. Ariel batted her tail through the water and rushed forward, excited at finding a clearing amid the thick kelp trees. As she swam faster and faster between the tall, thick kelp trees coming closer to the edge of the forest, she came to an abrupt stop upon seeing the cause of the clearing.

Tall, thick kelp trees had been smashed to the seafloor in what looked to be a trail of some kind as if something had rampaged through the forest. The trail went on for as long as Ariel could see in either direction and the width from one side of the forest to the other was a few fathoms long, at least. Ariel slowly swam out of the thick brush, jaw hanging agape, as she marveled at the trampled kelp trees.

She hovered just above the seabed examining the seafloor. The kelp trees hadn't just been bent or severely stunted upon growth, they had been broken at their bases and even uprooted. Looking back at the forest she had just come out of and examining the sheer density of each healthy kelp trunk, Ariel could only imagine a creature the size of a whale having the strength to do this much damage to a forest.

_I don't think whales come into forests, though—or at least not this far into forests. Often times you run _into_ a forest to escape a whale._

Never had Ariel seen anything like this before. Then again, never had she been in a forest by herself, either. When she was younger, she had always been warned by her sisters to never venture into the forest outside of Atlantica for fear of devious, ravenous sea witches that often prayed on young merfolk such as herself. Of course, she had always suspected those warnings as being myths and fables conjured up to scare young merfolk as children. Never did she believe in them until she learned that her own aunt had in fact been a sea witch.

Ariel's pulse quickened as she could feel it rising in her throat. She shifted quickly from side-to-side keeping an eye out for any and all danger. _Whatever caused this destruction is sure to return_, Ariel told herself. Figuring she'd be safer _in_ the forest rather than following the clearing, at least until she found a clamshell of a comfortable size, Ariel beat her tail and swam back into the thick brush. She beat her tail hard, wanting to swim as quickly as possible away from the flattened kelp trees.

Once she was a good distance away from the clearing, she slowed her speed and floated with the gentle currents. The large, thick kelp leaves rustled serenely in the water and brought a bit of calmness to Ariel and her fluttering heart.

She continued floating with the current until her attention was seized by the sound of a loud _pop!_ She recognized the sound almost immediately. The only thing in the water to make such a loud popping noise like that was the very thing she loved to eat most—shrimp. Unfortunately, this wasn't any normal shrimp. Based on the loud _popping_ noise, Ariel knew right away that this was the fiercely dangerous mantis shrimp.

Seizing her full attention and her curiosity, Ariel vacated the gentle current drifting through the forest and darted between troves of seaweed, following the sound. She found the stomatopod laying in a barren part of the forest with a large shell in its grasp. She perked up at seeing the shell. It was possible that it would fit her breasts, but without examining it closely, she wasn't entirely sure. Ariel decided right then that she had to have the shell. It was her only way of knowing whether or not it was big enough to fit her bust.

Not wanting to startle the mantis shrimp, she nestled herself in the green seaweeds all around her and did her best to blend in with the forest. Her green tail was great for camouflage in the forest, but her peach, fair skin wasn't. Ariel studied the large shrimp quietly, meticulously.

It was facing the opposite direction as Ariel so she wasn't concerned with the stomatopod seeing her. If she had to guess, it was probably as long as her forearms, if not longer. It was most definitely wider than her forearms, though, which meant that she wasn't dealing with a young mantis. On top of that, being surrounded by the darkness didn't bother mantis shrimp either. Like Ariel, mantis shrimp could see in the dark. If she went at it unprepared, she would certainly lose the fight and the shell—and possibly her life.

Ariel had heard stories of other merfolk trying to take on adult-sized mantis shrimp with deadly results. She had always been told to never get in a tail-to-claw fight with mantis shrimp should she ever come across one, because their best tactics when dealing with merfolk were to pierce the merfolk's skin or scaly tails with their claws, which were used for spearing, stunning, and dismembering prey or as an act of defense, causing the merfolk to bleed profusely. Then, the shrimp would burrow under the seabed and wait for something larger such as a shark to sense the blood and finish off the injured merfolk. Ariel's best chance at surviving this encounter was to use distance. It was her only way to win the battle.

Growing up as the youngest of six older sisters, Ariel had often times been the center of her sisters' bullying. Aquata, the unofficial sporty sister, had eventually taken pity on Ariel and had taught her how to physically defend herself. As time went on, Ariel and Aquata had grown closer—though not in the same way that Attina and Andrina had grown closer—and the red headed princess learned a few tricks when it came to self-defense, and not just from her sisters, but from predators as well. Being an avid explorer, despite her father's disapproval, Ariel had learned all that Aquata had taught her had really helped when it came to keeping herself safe.

The mantis shrimp cracked its claws at the shell again, attempting to smash it open. If the shrimp was successful, Ariel would be without a suitable shell to wear should it prove to be large enough for her breasts. She had the choice of leaving the shrimp alone and potentially finding another shell large enough for her bust deeper in the forest, but whatever had caused the clearing in the other part of the forest still frightened the young mermaid. She wanted out of the forest as quickly as possible and if that meant taking on a single mantis shrimp to get her shell, then so be it.

For as much as Ariel loved to eat shrimp, she had never dared to take on a mantis shrimp before. Today would be her day, though. Not only could she possibly get her bra, but Elsa was hungry and delivering a mantis shrimp to her would surely show Elsa just how much Ariel admired her. When other merfolk would take their dates out to eat on romantic evenings, mantis shrimp was considered a prime delicacy and an excellent way of showing affection because mantis shrimp are so deadly to acquire, thus making them rare and pricey.

Ariel pondered this for a moment.

_Am I seriously thinking of giving Elsa a mantis shrimp? Other merfolk do it as a way of showing their affection. Am I showing my affection for Elsa by doing this?_ Ariel's heart fluttered in her chest, causing a warm tingling feeling to disperse through her chest and into her tail. She giggled as the tingling sent a shiver down her spine. _I'm just being friendly. It's a friendly gesture. Elsa will understand._

Nonetheless, the thought brought a grin to Ariel's face.

Laying low in the kelp, Ariel thought about how she should approach this situation. Going in with melee attacks was obviously not ideal or smart. Feeling the bound stipe tighten around her clenched fist as she thought up a plan, suddenly brought an idea to her mind. With the seaweed wrapped in one hand and the conch shell in the other, Ariel realized she could use what she had learned from Aquata growing up to make a makeshift flail.

Aquata had taught Ariel how to wrangle seahorses using the stipe of seaweed and turning it into a lasso. _It just may actually work, _she thought. _Besides, it's just one mantis._ She unwound the stipe from around her hand and tied one end around the conch. She tied the stipe in a double knot and swung the weapon above her head, the conch not coming loose. It wasn't a lasso, but hopefully she could use it in a similar fashion. _I've already saved a beautiful young woman; I might as well do something else great today._

Unfortunately, the currents caused by the swinging of her newly-crafted weapon alerted the mantis shrimp of Ariel's presence. The shrimp let loose of the clamshell, quickly turning toward Ariel, readying itself to put up a defense. Thinking fast, Ariel swam out of the foliage and swiped her hand through the dirt of the seabed, causing a brown, cloudy mess of dirt and debris to blind the stomatopod. She swung her conch flail through the water and brought it down hard where the shrimp had been. When the dirt and dust settled, the shrimp was gone as was the clamshell.

Ariel's eyes widened with panic.

_Where'd it go?_

"Where did it go?" she screamed, reiterating her thoughts.

She dropped to the seabed and began digging through the dirt aware of how dangerous this could be should she come in direct contact with the shrimp's claws. Dirt and dust plumed in the water behind her as she dug. Suddenly, the seabed gave way as Ariel had unearthed a whole nest of mantis shrimp. She shrieked and quickly beat her tail, lifting herself out of range of all of the shrimp claws bursting through the water at her.

The shrimp began propelling themselves into the sea and swimming after the young mermaid. Ariel shrieked again. She swung the conch flail and hit one of the mantis shrimp, knocking it against an algae-covered rock, its hard exoskeleton cracking. More and more shrimp swam at Ariel. She did her best to put up a fight, but with her flail she was only able to strike one shrimp at a time. Thinking on her fin, Ariel used her best asset: her tail.

Ariel flipped onto her back and began beating her tail with ferocity. It was a maneuver that Aquata had taught her in order to keep opponents at bay. The currents she caused knocked the shrimp back, dispersing them. She swung her weapon above her head and aimed at an oncoming mantis. The conch crashed into the shrimp, a loud _crack _ringing through the water as the shrimp's exoskeleton cracked upon impact. It sunk to the seabed and Ariel's small victory was short-lived as more shrimp made their way toward her.

She began taking one shrimp out at a time. Soon the many shrimp that she had unearthed became only a few. Her tail was growing tired and despite the currents that it was creating, she was forced to stop beating it. Her heart beating in her chest and her chest and cheeks flushed, she swung her weapon again and hit another shrimp. Ariel surveyed the nest roughly two fathoms below her and noticed the clamshell she had wanted, unprotected and just sitting in the dirt. With only a few shrimp left alive, Ariel decided to try and out swim them.

She grabbed the conch hanging at the end of her flail and beat her tail against the water. With several shrimp coming at her, she darted forward, narrowly missing the shrimps' claws. They turned toward the mermaid and made their way back to the nest. Fortunately, for Ariel, she proved to be quicker than the deadly shrimp. She grabbed the shell, holding it between her left arm and her left breast and then grabbed one of the carcasses of the mantis shrimp.

_For Elsa_, she thought.

With her hands now full, she quickly made her way out of the destroyed nest and back into the kelp forest. The shrimp followed Ariel as quickly as they could. She darted around several troves of thick seaweed and then settled to the floor of the forest, finding a hiding spot under a large, fuzzy, algae-encrusted boulder. She remained silent and still for several minutes unsure of whether the other mantis shrimps had followed her or not. As she poked her head out from under the rock, she noticed the water was clear and calm. All danger seemed to be gone, so she came out and rested upon the fuzzy boulder.

Ariel pulled the clamshell from between her arm and chest and stared at it. It was green in the dark, and while it had a few cracks from the mantis shrimp beating at it, it appeared perfectly suitable to wear. Ariel dug her fingernails into the clamshell and pried it open. Inside was the soft tissue that made the clam what it was. Ariel dug into it with her nails and viciously ripped out the soft, slimy center. She stared at it, contemplating eating it. _I don't want to ruin my appetite, especially since I have this delectable mantis shrimp for Elsa and I. _Ariel shoved the clam meat in her mouth, savoring the slimy, soft texture along her tongue. _No sense in wasting what can be eaten_, she thought._ Plus, that little fight really burned away the other two shrimp I had eaten earlier so it all equals out._

She pulled the clam apart, tearing it from its hinge. Holding both pieces of the shell in her hands, she held it up to her breasts. They fit perfectly, more so than the old clamshell bra she had from when she was a teenager. Ariel took the stipe that was knotted around the conch shell and chewed it free. She sat it down on the boulder and then proceeded to tie the two halves of the clamshells together until she had a bra. She tied the stipe behind her back and positioned her breasts comfortably inside the shells.

Staring down at her breasts, she sighed. She enjoyed being bare-breasted, but for whatever reason it seemed to fluster Elsa. _They're just breasts_, Ariel thought, again. Then again, remembering her time as a human, everyone always covered up. It was a human thing that Ariel had never understood, _and an odd human thing at that_, she thought. She shrugged her shoulders and grabbed the conch shell and the dead mantis shrimp. _For Elsa_, she thought once again.

As Ariel lifted herself from the rock she noticed a wooden sign similar in design to that of a human's that had been attached to one of the kelp trees. She swam over to it and carved into the wooden sign were words written in Merl—the native language of all merfolk. The sign read, 'Mantis Forest. Beware of the nest of mantis shrimp and the Mantis Queen. Enter at your own risk.'

Ariel stared at the sign with a blank face. "Yeah, thanks," she said bluntly, her voice showing her annoyance. "It would have been great to see you earlier when I thought there was only _one_ shrimp!" She held up the shrimp she currently had with her. Ariel grinned. "I still got the prize, though."

Feeling victorious, Ariel beat her tail, ascending to the surface with the conch shell in one hand and the shrimp carcass in the other. It was going to be a long swim back to Elsa, but dinner would certainly prove to be worth it.


	7. Chapter 6: Elsa's Little Mermaid

**.**

* * *

**Chapter 6: Elsa's Little Mermaid**

* * *

**(****Ariel****)**

With every beat of her tail, Ariel ascended to the surface, the sky in all of its vastness seeming within reach. She yearned for the day that she would be able to see her mother again, to join in the great, deep ocean of stars and hold her and hug her and hear that soft, melodic voice speak to her once again. Of course, to meet her mother again would mean to die and that was the worst part of being able to have the chance to be with the late Queen Athena again. Ariel had no intention of dying today for she had only one objective right now: getting back to Elsa.

After the long swim away from Mantis Forest, Ariel had returned safely to Elsa's boat. As the young mermaid resurfaced, she noticed tiny, white flakes falling around the boat, glimmering in the sunlight. She had recognized them as snowflakes from when she had been a human living on land. Ariel marveled at their beauty. As one floated down toward the water, Ariel moved a little and let it land on her nose. It was cold, like her home at the bottom of the ocean, but then it melted away.

Elsa had her back turned to where Ariel had surfaced. Those same white snowflakes fell all around the blonde, making Elsa's blonde hair glimmer like the stars in the night's sky. There wasn't a cloud in sight and for snow to be falling on such a warm day made no sense at all, but Ariel paid that bit of knowledge little attention. She, instead, just marveled at the snow's beauty, at Elsa's beauty.

"They're beautiful," Ariel said softly.

Elsa turned to see Ariel with her head poking out of the water, her red hair clinging to the sides of her face, her clamshell hair band doing its job at keeping the hair out of the mermaid's eyes. Elsa quickly flailed her arms in the air, batting away the snowflakes. She stammered, "Uh, yeah... Weird, summer snow... I heard it happens every once and a great while."

Elsa seemed edgy and frightened, Ariel noticed. "I've only ever seen snow a couple of times," Ariel said. "Living in the ocean, we don't get snow and my father disapproves of my sisters and me coming to the surface. Though, there was this place two summers ago that had been covered in snow and ice over a single night. It was magical," Ariel awed at the memory. Elsa's eyes widened with horror. "It was as if something had cursed the land and the surrounding fjord with a bizarre summertime winter. It's somewhere up north. I don't know what humans call it, but merfolk call it the Summersnow Kingdom. Father took us all to see it. It was the one time he allowed us to go to the surface since"—Ariel paused. She thought of the last time her father had allowed his kingdom to the surface. They had all come to save the princess from her imprisonment by her ex-husband, Prince Eric of Glowerhaven. "Well, it doesn't matter," Ariel finished, shaking the memory from her mind.

Elsa shifted her eyes. "So, you're not scared?" she stammered.

"Scared?" asked Ariel. "What would I be scared of? It's just snow." She opened her mouth, letting a snowflake melt on her tongue. "Though, on a day like today I would assume it to be rain, now that I think about it." Ariel looked up to the cloudless sky. "Actually, there aren't any clou—"

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Elsa said quickly, interrupting the mermaid. "There's nothing magical about it. It's just snow." Elsa sat back, her shoulders slumped as if she was upset about something. She, then, quickly perked up. "What do you think of it?"

"It's very pretty," Ariel said. Seeing the snow fall around Elsa and glimmer against the sunlight, Ariel felt an odd sense of calmness about her, not that she had been feeling stressed before. She once again noticed the beauty that was Elsa. Her eyes glistened with their beautiful icy blue glow. Her disheveled hair sparkled in the sunlight as snowflakes littered her platinum blonde locks. Her smile was bright and warm. Forgetting about the lack of clouds in the sky as she had been too mesmerized by Elsa, Ariel asked, "Can I join you?"

Elsa nodded. "Come on in."

"Oh, but first,"—Ariel lifted her arm out of the water and handed Elsa the conch shell—"I got this for you. I thought it was pretty and since you're pretty, too, I figured you may like it?"

Elsa blushed and took the conch. Its surface was rich with pinks and oranges like the painted twilight sky with shades of green algae staining several of the shell's spires. The shell was smooth and a bit fuzzy to the touch, which Elsa grimaced at, but upon realizing Ariel was watching her, she smiled again. "Thank you. It _is_ very pretty." She sat the conch in the boat beside her.

Ariel smiled back at the blonde. "I'm glad you like it. If you hold it up to your ear, you can sometimes hear the sea whisper its secrets to you."

Elsa looked back at the conch, tilting her head slightly. She picked it up again and held it to her ear. She could hear the hum of the sea, but nothing more. "It's not saying anything," Elsa said, frowning.

"It'll speak to you when the sea has something worth saying." Ariel thought back to when she first acquired the conch. It had said, _Beware of the Queen_. But who was the Queen? Ariel brushed the thought away.

Ariel lifted her other arm from the water and threw the mantis shrimp into the boat. The boat shifted in the water as Ariel climbed in. "I found us a delicious mid-afternoon lunch!" Ariel twisted and turned until she was relaxing with her back against the side of the boat and her tail hanging over the edge, her fin resting atop the water. She added with a smirk, "Well, I assume it's delicious, anyways. I've heard great things about mantis shrimp! I've personally never had the luxury of being asked out on an expensive date."

Ariel turned and observed Elsa, her eyes wide, her upper lip curled, her jaw hanging agape. She looked mortified. "What's wrong?" asked Ariel. "Do I have something on me?" Ariel began searching her body. "It's not the bra, is it?"

Her new bra was beige and matched the sand that she had often sat in when she would go down to the beach to see her old friends from the sea during her two years while living in Glowerhaven. It was certainly a stark contrast from her lavender seashell bra that she had owned and wore when she was younger. At least that bra had been pretty, Ariel noted. This new one was just bland in appearance, but then again it fit comfortably and that's all she could really ask for.

Elsa pointed at the dead shrimp lying in the boat. "What... is _that_?" she exclaimed, her voice quavering with disgust.

Ariel leaned forward, picking up the shrimp. Her hand wrapped around its rough, scaly abdomen, her fingers resting in its many legs. As she held it up she noticed in the sunlight that the mantis shrimp had been quite colorful, beautiful even. It ranged from colors of aqua blue to green like her tail to orange and red like the sky during sunset. Its body fell limp as its large, orange claws dangled away from its body. It was easily well over a fin long.

"It's a mantis shrimp. You see, down where I live in Atlantica the mantis shrimp is considered something of a rare treat. It's for those extra _special_ occasions." She wriggled her eyebrows at the word 'special'. "They're also supposed to be really dangerous to catch what with these claws that they have, but I"—Ariel smirked, feeling proud of herself—"caught and killed one all by myself. Actually, I nearly killed an entire nest of them," she added to herself, that last part. She tossed the shrimp toward Elsa. "You can have the first bite."

"Ew! Ew! Ew!" Elsa scrambled toward the bow of the small boat again, just as she had done upon first meeting the mermaid. "Get it out of here!"

"What? Why?"

Elsa stared in horror at the dead arthropod. Ariel noticed the blonde shudder and then she leaned forward and hastily threw the shrimp from the boat. Ariel watched it fly through the air and land in the water with a splash. "No!" Ariel screamed. Before she could dive in the water after their meal, the water rippled and then the rare delicacy was gone. Ariel's mouth hung agape as she watched all of her hard work taken from her by presumably a hungry fish. She turned and scowled at Elsa. "I would have eaten that if you weren't going to!"

Elsa cowered in her corner not saying a word as the mermaid shouted at her. Ariel crossed her arms over her breasts and sat back in the boat, muttering incoherently to herself. Her fin flapped erratically at the thought of her dinner being thrown away. They sat in silence for a long time.

**# # #**

A blurred glare sitting on the surface, the sun was furthering its descent into the underworld. As the sun's orange glow warmed her drying red hair and her bare back, Ariel sat in the boat, brooding, with her eyebrows knitted together, her eyes narrowed, and her nostrils flared. She contemplated just leaving. _If my hard work for a decent meal isn't going to be appreciated, then maybe I should just go! Elsa is gorgeous and wonderful, or so I thought, but if she can't appreciate me getting us dinner, then—_

Ariel's train of thought was interrupted by the sound of sniffling. She recognized it as human crying. She turned her attention to Elsa and her hardened expression softened. Elsa was sitting as closely to the bow as she could with her knees tucked up against her chest, her face hidden behind her hands. Her body trembled and immediately Ariel felt awful for shouting at the young woman. Ariel's eyes drifted to the bed of the boat as her shoulders slumped.

"Hey," Ariel said softly, "I didn't mean to yell at you." Elsa kept sniffling and crying softly to herself. "I'm sorry." Ariel twisted and laid on her belly, her arms extended as she kept her back arched, showing off her new bra. "Look, I found a bra. You don't have to be embarrassed when looking at me anymore."

Elsa didn't look up, though. She kept to herself and continued to cry. Ariel tried to think of something she could say or do to show Elsa that she wasn't upset about the shrimp, even though she really had wanted to eat it. Ariel noticed her leather pouch that Elsa had tucked between her thighs and her belly.

"My mother gave me that pouch, you know? She said she had found it when she was younger, but I think someone had given it to her. It used to have a name embroidered across it, but it's since worn out being in the sea for so long. That's how I came up with the name James for you when I thought you were a man."

Elsa sniffled. She lifted her head slightly. Ariel's story seemed to be working. Elsa looked at the mermaid, her eyes red and puffy, her cheeks wet with tears. She pulled the leather pouch from between her legs and her belly. She looked at the pouch that the mermaid had turned into a satchel and tried to pronounce the name, or what was left of the name, anyways. "James... ...mewhoo...?"

Ariel giggled, hoping Elsa would giggle with her. She didn't. "It used to read James Bartholomew Hook. I don't know who he was. My mother would never speak of him. She just happened to have his leather pouch and when I was younger she gave it to me and told me to keep it. She entrusted me with it. I miss my mother dearly." As Ariel thought about her beloved mother, she sighed knowing that if she was human she would surely be shedding a few tears to her memories. "She was a wonderful sea maiden," Ariel added, softly, endearingly.

Elsa wiped her eyes and rubbed her finger across her nose. "What was she like?"

"She was compassionate, loving, and a wonderful mother to me and my six sisters; she loved my father, and she loved all us—her children—with all of her heart and then some. My mother always put everyone first and foremost in her life, especially when it came to her family. She loved to sing—oh!—she had the most amazing voice I had _and have_ ever heard." Ariel's face lit up at being able to expel such wonderful praise for her beloved and dearly departed mother. "She had a voice that could make Poseidon swoon." Ariel chuckled. "I loved my mother." Her gleeful expression faded to that of loss and sorrow. "I _love_ my mother," she added, dolefully, making sure to put an emphasis on 'love'.

Elsa reached out, handing the leather pouch to the mermaid across from her. Ariel took it and held it close to her cheek, the leather reminding the mermaid of when she was younger and would cuddle up next to her mother—her head resting peacefully atop her mother's soft bosom. "She sounds wonderful," said Elsa, still sniffling. "What was her name?"

"Athena," Ariel said gently.

"That's a really beautiful name. I bet she was a really beautiful mermaid."

"More beautiful than any mermaid or human I've ever laid eyes on," Ariel said. _Though, you're a very close second_, Ariel added to herself. Ariel's response elicited a chuckle from Elsa. Ariel perked up, curious at what was so funny. "What?"

Elsa shook her head. "It's nothing. Just the words 'more beautiful'... my sister would have said beautifuller. It reminded me of her. She was pregnant when I left. I just"—Elsa paused, casting her eyes to the calm water—"I just hope I get to see her again."

"You will," Ariel promised. "I'll make sure of it. I'll get you home."

Still looking out at the water, Elsa said, "I don't even know where I am. How am I supposed to get home? I'm lost."

Ariel thought about their location for a moment. How far had she come from Atlantica? She had swum at least half a day from her home before coming across Elsa's ship. She, then, had followed the ship until later that night when the storm had hit. She had rescued Elsa and swum a significant distance while pushing the boat to escape the sharks, and then she had slept. Upon waking up she had discovered the boat missing and she had to swim another few hours to find it which brought them to where they were now, about an hour north of the Mantis Forest. How far they had traveled Ariel really didn't know, but for the sake of giving Elsa hope she was willing to guess.

"Well, I'd say we're about a day's swim north of the Floating Stars."

"The Floating Stars," said Elsa. "What are the Floating Stars?"

"Something else my mother had told me when I was younger was that when all merfolk pass away, they float up to the stars to be in the Great Sea in the sky. Every star in the night's sky is a merfolk looking down on their friends or family and the Floating Stars are the ones ascending to the Great Sea. It happens once every year during the summer near Corona. The spirits of all of the deceased merfolk from the past year gather at Corona and ascend together so no one has to be alone when making the travel. It's actually quite beautiful, and although I don't look forward to death, I do look forward to the travel someday. It'll be nice to see my mother again." Ariel smiled, memories of her mother warming her heart, causing her jaw to slightly tremble.

"Corona," said Elsa. "You mean, as in the Kingdom of Corona?"

Ariel nodded. "Yeah, that's it. We actually call it the Island of Stars, but because of being at the surface so often, I've heard people call it Corona. I just assumed that was the land's human name."

"Oh, so the Floating Stars... you think that they're"—Elsa paused as if she was thinking about something. Her red, puffy eyes met Ariel's. A smile lifted across her lips. "That's a beautiful story. It's really wonderful that all of your departed would get together to travel to the Great Sea above all at once."

Ariel smiled as she looked to the sky. "Yeah, I just hope my mother is looking down on me and smiling at the mermaid I've become. She wouldn't put up with the dumb rule that my father instated about all of us never coming to the surface. She loved being at the surface. She would encourage us to go out and explore. We'd still be shy around humans and would need to keep our distance, but she would at least let us see the sky, taste the air, and feel the sunlight on our cold skin and slick tails." Ariel brought her gaze back to Elsa's tantalizing eyes. "I just hope I make her proud."

Elsa moved closer to Ariel. The boat rocked back and forth on the surface. She sat down and gently put her hand on Ariel's forearm. With Elsa's touch, Ariel felt her heart skip a beat. A warm rush of tingles went through her body and settled in her tail. Ariel could feel a hot blush settling in her cheeks. "She is," Elsa said, confidently and without doubt.

Elsa's stomach growled. Both girls looked at the blonde's mid-section. Together, they both began giggling. "I guess I'm still hungry," chuckled Elsa.

"Well, I brought you lunch and you tossed it away," Ariel said, feigning anger.

Elsa blushed and turned her head. "Yeah, I'm still deeply sorry about that. It's just that bugs creep me out and that looked like the ocean's equivalent to a _gigantic_ bug."

Ariel laughed. "Oh, but a tasty bug I would imagine!"

Elsa sat back, placing her hands on her stomach. "I wish I had something to eat. I wish there was an island around here or something where I could stretch my legs and find some fruit or something. I'm really getting annoyed by all of this water." Realizing she was sitting next to a mermaid, Elsa suddenly added, "Not that you're annoying me! You're not!" Ariel grinned. "It's just that humans aren't made for the sea. We're land mammals."

"Makes so much sense why you're constantly crossing our seas," Ariel jested.

"Eh, travel," Elsa said, shrugging her shoulders.

"I'll find us some lunch if you promise not to throw it overboard again," Ariel said.

"What are you going to find out here?" asked Elsa. "There's nothing but water out here."

"That's all I need. There's plenty to eat under the sea."

Elsa's eyes widened. Before she could tell Ariel not to go, the mermaid was gone, disappearing into the sea once more.

**# # #**

As Ariel swam in search of something quick and easy to feast upon, she thought more about Elsa. _It's more than just beauty with her. She's a truly sweet and wonderful person. Sure, Eric was the same way at first as well, but something about Elsa is different. She has a heart that beats with love. She's compassionate and endearing. She loves her sister. She makes me feel all warm and tingly inside. She makes me feel like I'm in the right place when I'm with her._

Swimming further away from the boat, Ariel came across a school of mackerel lounging in the warm seawater. Being out in the open, she knew she would have to rely on speed to catch one of the fish. As soon as the fish would spot her, they would undoubtedly swim away in a rush to get to safety. Mermaids were well known as not only being protectors of the sea, but for being fierce predators to those fish not considered their friends.

Ariel lurked in the water like the predator she was, keeping extremely still. Her hair floated above her like red tentacles from a sea anemone. With quick precision, Ariel darted off into the school of mackerel and captured one in her hand. The others swam away from the mermaid in all directions screaming, "Mermaid! Swim away!"

The mackerel squirmed in Ariel's hand, attempting to get free. Ariel tightened her grip around the fish ensuring that it was hers. She gloated to herself at catching the silver-scaled mackerel. Fish were actually never that hard to catch for mermaids, but the fact that she didn't have to go chasing after one made this moment all the better. She would be able to return to Elsa quickly which brought more warm tingles to her tail.

_Gods, what is it about her?_

**# # #**

**(****Elsa****)**

Elsa sat patiently in the boat waiting for Ariel, her friend, her savior, to return. Though, honestly she felt a bit worried. Sure, she had eaten fish before, but she had never eaten raw fish. How would she tell Ariel that she wasn't in the mood to eat? She already knew that Elsa was hungry, that's why she had disappeared under the sea for the second time to get food. Elsa had upset the mermaid by throwing out their first meal, how could she possibly get out of this without upsetting the mermaid yet again?

Elsa's eyes were wide and she wringed her hands. Sweat lined her brow. The sun was nearing the western horizon, taking much of the harsh heat with it. _At least that's one problem out of the way_, Elsa thought. _Then again, that leaves me stranded out at sea in the dark for another night. At least I have Ariel. I know she'll keep me safe._

The thought of the mermaid warmed Elsa's heart. _I can't believe we were both at Corona the same night watching the floating lanterns. It's amazing that mermaids and humans can perceive the same thing as two totally different things. To us, the floating lanterns are a symbol of Rapunzel's birth and her return to her rightful home in the kingdom__; but, to mermaids the floating lanterns are the souls of their brethren swimming to the Great Sea high in the sky. It's truly beautiful._ Elsa felt the corner of her lips lift. _If only we could have met at Corona two nights ago, perhaps we could have watched the Floating Stars together._ Elsa caught herself referring to the lanterns as stars. She liked it. _She could have been my other half, the Eugene to my Rapunzel._

Just then the water rippled and Ariel's head broke through the surface. Elsa noticed the red head, and worry had returned to her face. Ariel must have noticed, because she immediately asked, "What is it? What's wrong?"

Elsa shook her head. She forced a smile. "Oh, it's nothing. I wasn't expecting you to get dinner so quickly."

"Well, I hope you're starving, because"—Ariel lifted her hand from the water, the mackerel flailing around in her grasp—"I brought food! It may not be a mantis shrimp, but it'll do."

Ariel tossed the fish into the boat and then climbed in. The mackerel flopped around, gasping. Elsa lurched away just as she had done with the mantis shrimp, except this time she didn't shriek or throw the food back into the water.

"It's alive!" Elsa stammered.

"Of course it's alive. You weren't expecting me to find a dead, half-consumed fish were you?"

"But, it's—it's flopping around! It's _alive!_"

Ariel stared at Elsa and then sighed. She grabbed the fish with both hands and snapped its spine, showing no remorse. The _crunch_ of its bones elicited a half-gasp/half-shriek from Elsa. Her hands were covering her mouth in horror as she watched the fish fall from Ariel's hands into the boat, limp and lifeless. Though sweet, beautiful, and her own personal savior, Elsa recognized that Ariel still had a savage side to her at heart.

_But, to what extent is she really different from any one of us_, Elsa thought. _Wouldn't we all do the same thing in her situation? She grew up in the sea. Killing and eating fish is as natural to her as killing and eating fish is to us, or deer even._ Elsa shifted her eyes. _Well, except for Kristoff, but he's just strange anyways._

Ariel picked up the fish. "Don't be frightened. It won't bite... anymore," she smirked. She wriggled the fish at Elsa. Elsa shrieked and cowered away causing Ariel to laugh. "Oh, come on, it's dead. Let's eat!"

Elsa watched as Ariel stuck the fish's head in her mouth. Wondering if Ariel had planned on eating the fish whole as is, she gasped when Ariel bit down on the mackerel, hard. The bones broke with a sickening _crunch _and Ariel yanked the fish's body from her teeth, the fish now headless. Ariel turned and spit the head into the water, traces of blood dripping down the mermaid's chin. Ariel used her sharp nails like a knife to slice the fish open. She opened the fish up slightly and proceeded to gut it using her nails, tossing a few of the innards into the sea and a few into her mouth. She spread the fish's body completely open like a book and picked out several of its bones. She then ripped the fish into two halves and handed one of the halves to Elsa. Elsa's face was green with disgust.

"You don't look so well," Ariel noted.

Elsa felt her stomach churn. She leaned over the side of the boat and proceeded to vomit into the water. Unfortunately, her stomach was empty so she only heaved and spit saliva. She needed to eat, but she wasn't sure she could bring herself to eat the fish that had literally been slaughtered right in front of her.

When Elsa sat back in the boat, she looked at the mermaid. Ariel was raking her nails along the fish's body. When she flicked her fingers at the water, scales from the fish floated on the surface, glimmering in the dying sunlight. "I'm not a huge fan of the scales," said Ariel, turning to Elsa. "They get in my teeth."

Elsa felt the urge to vomit once again, but she did her best to keep the feeling at bay. She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath, the smell of the salty sea filling her lungs. She was lucky she had her ice magic to use as a way of keeping herself hydrated when Ariel wasn't looking, because she was afraid of what Ariel would have done had she needed freshwater to drink.

Elsa picked up the fish half that Ariel had given her and stared at it. Blood dripped from its severed body. Her heart thudded in her chest and every inch of her body was screaming at her to not eat the fish. She hadn't come up with an excuse to deny Ariel's treat seeing as how she knew that, '_Ew! Ew! Ew! I'm not eating this!_' was an unacceptable excuse. Plus, she didn't want to insult the mermaid again. Besides, she needed to eat _something_ and there was nothing else for her to eat out in the middle of nowhere.

_Maybe raw fish is a delicacy somewhere in the world?_ Elsa thought.

Hesitantly, Elsa brought the ripped mackerel to her lips. Her hands trembled. The fish wasn't flattering to look at being raw and bloody. She imagined it cooked and seasoned, like she was used to having her fish back home in Arendelle. She inhaled a deep breath, the coppery smell of blood replacing the salty sea fragrance in her lungs. She felt the urge to vomit yet again, but she was able to stifle the feeling. Opening her mouth, Elsa bit down on the fish and pulled away, a small chunk of flesh sitting idly on her tongue.

The fish was in her mouth, but now what? She couldn't bring herself to chew. _I made it this far, just chew the damn thing!_ Thoughts were stronger than action. Her jaw locked. Saliva was building in her mouth, mixing with the fish and the blood. There was a metallic twang to what was sitting on her tongue, but all-in-all Elsa noted that the taste was... _not bad_, she thought. It was far from being delicious, but it wasn't as horrid as she thought it would have been. Elsa forced herself to chew. The texture was a bit rubbery and the scales were actually the worst part.

She swallowed.

"So, what do you think?" asked Ariel, her half of the fish completely consumed.

Elsa felt saliva running down her chin. As she wiped it away, she noticed it was actually blood. Her queasiness settled, surprisingly. Elsa cleared her throat, noticing the strong taste of blood still lingering in her mouth. "The aftertaste isn't too pleasant what with the blood, and the scales I really don't care for, but it's okay. It's not something I want to eat everyday and I would still prefer to have it cooked, but for being stranded out at sea it's a meal." Elsa surprised herself by taking another bite.

Ariel held out her hand. "Give me the fish."

Confused, Elsa cocked her head since her mouth was presently occupied with raw mackerel.

Ariel smiled, a soft giggle escaping her lips. "I'll remove the scales for you."

Elsa nodded, still chewing the fish. She handed it to Ariel and the mermaid began raking her nails along the fish. Elsa swallowed, staring at the mermaid scale her dinner. There was something endearing about Ariel that made Elsa smile and feel safe when she was in Ariel's presence, yet there was also the savagery of the young mermaid that Elsa wasn't used to. Ariel had not only saved the Queen and vowed to protect her, but she was willing to feed her and stay with her just so she wouldn't have to be alone. _She's not even supposed to be up here with me_, Elsa thought. _Yet, here she is. _Elsa stared longingly at the red haired, green tailed mermaid until she noticed her heart flutter in her chest. "Why are you doing this?" asked Elsa.

As Ariel flicked her fingers at the water, the peeled scales floating on the surface, she cocked her head. "What do you mean?"

"Well," Elsa began, repositioning herself to not only find a more comfortable position, but to find a way to be closer to Ariel without making it obvious, "why did you rescue me? Why are you staying with me?"

Ariel flicked her fingers at the water again. The piece of fish had been completely scaled. Its flesh was pink and more closely resembled a fish that Elsa was used to eating, pre-cooked of course. Ariel handed it back to the blonde.

"I just...thought it was the right thing to do. Mermaids aren't evil sea creatures like some people think we are." She spoke as if she had knowledge of people referring to mermaids as vile and wretched sea demons. "We're actually quite kind and peaceful. I wanted to save all of those men on your ship, but I couldn't. There were just too many. And the sharks..." Ariel's voice lingered. Noticing the hurt in Ariel's voice, Elsa reached out and gently placed a hand on the mermaid's forearm. Ariel smiled and blushed as she brought her beautiful eyes to meet Elsa's. She continued, "Then, I noticed you trapped under the sail and I made it my mission to save at least one person. And I did."

Elsa felt a smile form on her lips. The pain of losing her men would always be on her conscience, but there was nothing more she could do for them now. She could only hope that they were in a better place. She took a bite of the fish, this time it tasting slightly better without the scales.

"Do you not want me here?" asked the young mermaid, coyly.

Elsa quickly swallowed. "No, I do!" Realizing the suddenness of her reply, Elsa took another bite so as not to show her embarrassment. _You do things to me... You make me feel things I've never felt before._

Ariel smiled. "Well, I'm glad, because honestly I'm happy to have met you."

There it was. Elsa's cheeks turned blazing red. Even with her body being unnaturally cold, she could feel the heat in her cheeks. She turned her head away from Ariel trying to hide her embarrassment. _I'm happy to have met—_

There was a splash as the boat rocked back and forth. Elsa turned back toward the mermaid and she was gone. Elsa desperately began searching for her, finding the beautiful red head floating behind the boat.

"We've been here for most of the day," Ariel said. "What do you say we get out of here? The faster we move the faster we can get you home."

_Home_, Elsa thought. _Home..._

Elsa nodded. "Okay, but why are you in the water?"

"I'm going to push you, silly."

"Push me? I don't need you to push me. Get back in this boat!" Elsa demanded, her hierarchy as Queen coming through.

"I'm going to push you from underneath," explained Ariel. "It's how I got you away from the shark last night."

"But, I can row," said Elsa, pointing at the oars on either side of the boat. "Using these are how I managed to get away from you this morning."

"You did get fairly far," Ariel said, pondering for a moment.

"Yes, now get back in this boat!"

"I think I'll just swim for a while. I was starting to dry out anyways."

Elsa smirked. "You silly salmon."

Ariel feigned a gasp. "Salmon?!" She flicked her hand, splashing water at Elsa. "You dull peasant!"

Elsa's mouth dropped. The only person to have ever joked about her hierarchy was Anna and that was because they are sisters. Not even Kristoff would joke to Elsa about being anything other than the Queen. Then again, Ariel didn't know about Elsa's true identity. She had no idea Elsa was a queen. It actually felt good to be just another somebody to someone instead of having to be queen to everyone.

Elsa giggled. "The peasant and the salmon... they'll make stories about us!" Elsa began rowing, the small boat inching its way through the calm water.

"I dare anyone but you to call me a salmon! I'll show them just how vicious a mermaid can truly be!"

Elsa blushed and giggled again. "You can be my little salmon."

"Or, I can be your little mermaid..." A blush quickly consumed Ariel's cheeks.

Elsa smiled warmly at her new friend. "I think I like that more. Ariel, the little mermaid."

"_Your_ little mermaid," Ariel corrected.

Elsa just smiled as she continued rowing and watching Ariel swim beside her, her long red locks flowing on the water's surface.

**# # #**

After about two hours of rowing and being pushed by Ariel, Elsa was exhausted. She had spent the last hour sitting by herself in the boat, her eyelids heavy. The sun had set nearly an hour prior and the night's sky was alive with stars and the glow of the full moon. A gentle breeze blew across the calm sea and Elsa inhaled the salty air, a smell she was slowly growing to like.

The boat shifted and Ariel climbed in holding something green in her hands. She pulled what appeared to be a blanket from the water and sat it in the boat. Elsa furrowed her brow, giving the mermaid a confused look.

"It's a blanket. I made it from seaweed. That's what I've been doing since the sun disappeared into the underworld." _The underworld,_ thought Elsa. _I'm learning so much about mermaid culture and it's quite fascinating._ She picked up the wet seaweed blanket and nearly grimaced at its slimy touch. "I know it's wet," said Ariel, "but I was thinking you may still be able to cover up with it. I know it can sometimes get cold on the surface and I thought it would be nice if you could cover up and keep warm. It may be a bit cold tonight since the seaweed is wet, but maybe tomorrow it'll dry in the sun and then you can use it for warmth?"

_She's so sweet,_ Elsa thought. She felt the urge to hug Ariel. Her compassion for Elsa sent warm tingles throughout the Queen's body. Elsa picked up the blanket despite its slimy texture. "You made this for me so I would stay warm?"

Ariel nodded. "I know how humans can often get cold at night. I'm sorry if it doesn't keep you warm tonight since it's wet, but I at least wanted to try and do _something_ to help you through the night."

_She thought of me enough to try and make a blanket to keep me warm despite the cold not bothering me. She truly is a sweetheart, _Elsa thought.

"Thank you," Elsa said, smiling. "I'm sure it'll be fine."

Ariel smiled, her shoulders going to her ears. "Hey, you want me to tell you more about the stars?" Ariel asked excitedly.

Elsa chuckled. "I'd like that very much," she replied softly.

Ariel and Elsa looked to the sky. Ariel pointed to various stars and told Elsa all about what she had learned as a child from her mother. As they sat in that boat together, Elsa listened to the mermaid, her gaze slowly going from the stars to Ariel. Ariel's face lit up as she kept explaining more of the lore behind the stars and the Great Sea above. Elsa smiled serenely and looked back to the sky, listening to her new friend.

_My little mermaid..._


	8. Chapter 7: Sisters and Magic

**.**

* * *

**Chapter 7: Sisters and Magic**

* * *

**(****Elsa****)**

Elsa awoke to the faint glow of the graying sky off to the east. Stars still gleamed in the western sky and the crescent moon reined its silver glow down on Elsa as she lay in the bottom of the boat, curled in the fetal position with the still-damp seaweed blanket that Ariel had made for her the night before covering her body.

The floor of the boat was hard and Elsa felt a crick in her neck as she shifted her head, but all-in-all she had slept fairly peacefully. The last thing she remembered from the night before was staring up at the stars with Ariel, her eyelids heavy with sleep, and then slumping over next to the mermaid.

_Did Ariel tuck me in? _Elsa sat up, slowly moving her head back and forth, her mouth opening wide with a yawn. She noticed Ariel's leather satchel on the floor of the boat beside her. Upon sitting up she noticed that it had been left with her where her head had been. _She left her mother's pouch with me as a pillow?_ Elsa couldn't resist a smile. _Aw, she tucked me in and made sure I would sleep well._ Elsa twisted her neck, satisfied when a loud _pop_ eased the crick that had cramped her neck. _Well, as well as one can sleep on the floor of a boat, anyways._

Elsa glanced over at the spot where Ariel had been the night before. She was gone, only the conch shell that Ariel had given Elsa occupied the mermaid's spot. Elsa reached forward and picked up the conch. In the graying light of the oncoming morning, Elsa realized that her gift truly was beautiful, just like the mermaid that had given it to her. Elsa put her ear to the opening of the conch shell remembering from the day before what Ariel had told her: _'If you hold it up to your ear, you can sometimes hear the sea whisper its secrets to you.'_ Again, she could only make out the hum of the sea. _Maybe that is the sea whispering to me?_ Elsa thought. _Maybe it's something only merfolk are able to understand?_

Elsa put the conch shell down and gazed out to the east, watching the sun's glow turn the graying horizon into a watercolor painting of reds, pinks, and oranges. A cool, light breeze blew across the open sea and filled Elsa's lungs with its salty aroma. Elsa leaned over the side of the boat and looked down into the water. Though the sun was starting to rise, the water was still too dark to see beyond the surface.

"Hi," said the soft, familiar voice that Elsa had grown to like. Elsa turned to the other side, the water sloshing as she scooted her way to the edge of the boat. From the surface, Ariel's head poked through. Her hair was wet and clung to her cheeks and drifted out behind her, resting on the surface like red moss on a lake. "I felt the boat shift above me," said Ariel, her lips turning to a smile. "Weird how I didn't feel it yesterday when you paddled away."

"You slept in the water?" asked Elsa.

"I have to. I'll dry out if I stay out of the water for too long. Don't worry, though. As long as you're out here on the sea, I will promise to always be nearby. I won't leave you."

Ariel's promise brought another smile to Elsa's lips. Another soft breeze blew across the sea causing a random strand of hair to fall between Ariel's eyes and land on the bridge of her nose. Elsa reached out to move the stand away, and stopped with her hand hanging over the boat. "May I..." She signaled at the fallen strand of hair.

"You don't have to ask," replied Ariel, her voice soft and serene, her lips giving way to a smile.

Elsa felt a warm blush settle in her pale cheeks. She leaned forward, moving the strand away as if doing so was just natural to her. It was the first time she had touched the mermaid's hair. It felt slimy, like fresh seaweed, and for once Elsa noticed that she wasn't disgusted by the feeling. "You have really pretty hair," Elsa said. She then grabbed her own hair and stared at it. "Unlike mine," she added.

"Your hair looks fine," Ariel said.

"No, it's a mess," Elsa sighed. "Back home it would look elegant and beautiful, like that of a queen." She paused, realizing she had given away her title. Of course, Ariel still didn't know of her true identity, so she kept speaking as if it meant nothing. "Every morning I would wake up before sunrise to shower and do my hair. I tend to style it in a thick, magnificent braid, but this humidity has done something terrible to my hair. I can't get it to stay in a braid anymore. It doesn't help that I have nothing to tie it all together with, I guess?"

"What's humidity?" asked Ariel.

"It's..." Elsa sighed. "It's the water vapor in the air."

"If water was in the air, wouldn't you drown?"

"It's the sea water," said Elsa. "The sun and the sea water are causing the humidity in the air."

"If there's water in the air, why can't I use my gills to breathe it in?"

"It's not that kind of—wait, what? You have gills?"

Ariel chuckled. "Of course I have gills. I'd be a terrible mermaid if I didn't have gills. I mean, I guess I could always get a blowhole like dolphins or a whale, but can you imagine a mermaid with a blowhole?"

"Up until now, I couldn't imagine a mermaid with gills." Elsa paused. "Can I see them?"

Ariel shifted her eyes with confusion. "My blowhole?"

Elsa's face flushed with crimson. "No! I said _them! _Your gills! We were talking about gills!" Elsa covered her face in her hands, doing her best to hide her embarrassment.

Ariel laughed. "First my breasts make you blush and now when I say the word 'blowhole' that makes you blush, too?" Ariel continued to giggle. She pulled back her hair and cocked her head to one side revealing her neck. "You see these scratch-like marks across my neck? Those are my gills."

Elsa brought her head up from her hands. Her face was still flushed, but she wanted to see the gills. They looked exactly as Ariel had said: like scratches—fresh scratches. "It looks like someone cut you several times on the neck with a knife," noted Elsa.

Ariel straightened her head and her hair back over her neck. "I know. They looked like scars when I was human."

_Human..._ Elsa wanted to ask about her time being human, but the last time she had brought it up Ariel had seemed to not want to remember that time of her life. So, Elsa kept quiet.

"Well," said Ariel, "getting back to our original problem, I think I may have an idea on how to fix your hair. I'll be right back."

Ariel's head disappeared under the surface and once again Elsa was alone. The sun had lifted above the horizon, its golden glow stretching across the sea and hitting Elsa, warming her cool skin. Elsa searched the water for Ariel, the sun's glow allowing Elsa to see below the surface, but she couldn't spot her new friend.

Elsa sat back in the boat and stared out at the horizon, watching the sun rise. The morning sky had gone from completely gray, to streaks of red, pink, and orange, to now blue. White, fluffy clouds traveled over head slowly as another breezy flowed across the calm water.

Elsa thought about her kingdom. The trip to Corona took nearly a week by ship. Knowing Elsa was leaving the day after Rapunzel's birthday, Anna wouldn't be expecting her sister home for another four days counting today. And, now, stuck in this tiny life boat, how long would it take the Queen to get home? How long would her kingdom wait before they started sending other ships out to search for her? How long would Anna wait?

Elsa and Anna had both been invited to join Rapunzel for her birthday and to see the floating lanterns—Elsa smiled thinking of Ariel's meaning behind the lanterns. Unfortunately, Anna's pregnancy had caused the princess to develop serious seasickness that Anna just didn't want to deal with. She had told Elsa to go and to tell their cousin she was deeply sorry to have missed her birthday. Anna had even asked Olaf to join Elsa, but Elsa had deemed it better if he stay with the expecting mother. On her last day in Arendelle Anna had given Elsa what she had needed most at the time: encouragement and love. She remembered the day like it had just happened yesterday.

**[. . .]**

Elsa stood by her bedchamber window gazing out at the fjord, her ship ready for the departure to the Kingdom of Corona. Her eyes darted back and forth. She wrung her hands together at her navel. Beads of sweat collected on her forehead at her hairline. She gasped and jumped at the sound of the soft click of her doorknob turning. She was relieved when Anna stepped through the door.

"Elsa, are you okay?" asked Anna, her voice soft and caring. "Everyone's been asking for you."

Elsa nodded, casting her eyes to the floor of her bedchamber. "I'm just a bit nervous, Anna. That's all."

Anna gracefully made her way to Elsa and wrapped her older sister in her arms. Elsa may have been the Queen of Arendelle, but she would always be Anna's sister first and foremost. As Anna embraced her sister, Elsa could feel the tiny swell in Anna's belly—her baby bump. She had only been two months along in her pregnancy and already she had been showing.

"Don't worry," whispered Anna, "The trip will be fine."

"I'm not scared of the trip," Elsa muttered, her voice almost at a whimper. "I'm scared of what the others will think of me."

"No one is scared of you," said Anna, calmly, tightening her arms around Elsa. "They've all had nearly two years to adjust to their Queen. Plus, a lot of people actually feel safer with you around. Your magic puts anyone wanting to harm Arendelle at a serious disadvantage. If anything, people are frightened that you're _leaving_."

Elsa chuckled but then shook her head. "No, that's not what I'm nervous about. I know some people here are still wary of my magic, but that they accept me for who I am."

"Then what's the problem?" asked Anna.

Elsa turned her head, staring down at the floor, her cheek resting partly on Anna's shoulder. "Corona. I'm afraid that people there will think I'm some sort of... monster. What if Rapunzel—"

"You know better than that," Anna said, sternly, interrupting her sister. "Rapunzel was here two years ago when you froze Arendelle. She wasn't scared of you then and she's not scared of you now, Elsa. You know she won't allow other people to think of you as a monster."

Anna pulled away from their embrace. Elsa was still staring down at her bedchamber floor. Anna cupped Elsa's chin and brought her sister's gaze to meet her own. "People like you, Elsa. They _love_ you. Kristoff loves you. _I_ love you." Anna leaned in, standing on her tippy toes, and tenderly kissed Elsa's forehead. "You're a wonderful and just Queen and no one would ever think otherwise.

"Just don't ever hide your true self from anyone. Be the person you're meant to be. Be proud of who you are. Be our Queen. Don't let fear rule your life. Remember the last time you let that happen? You ran away and I had to bring you back, and quite frankly, I'm in no shape"—Anna put her hand on her pregnant belly—"to go after you again."

Anna's reassurance and confidence brought a smile to Elsa's face. "Thank you, Anna," she said softly. "You're always here for me."

Anna smiled back at her beautiful sister. "You're going to have a wonderful time in Corona. I wish I could come, but you know how the sea treats me now that I'm pregnant."

Elsa giggled. "Yeah, I remember. The captain was not happy with your... mess." Both sisters giggled at their shared memory.

"Yeah, I was not expecting that. I guess your little nephew won't be a sailor of the seas when he's older."

Elsa gasped. "You never told me you were having a boy!"

Anna grinned. "Actually, I don't really know right now. Grand Pabbie says it's still too early to determine." She leaned in and whispered, "Honestly, I'm kind of hoping for twins: one boy and one girl."

"Twins don't run in our family," said Elsa.

"But, they could in Kristoff's. He doesn't remember his human family. His earliest memories go back to the ice harvesters before the rock trolls adopted him. He _could_ have a twin out there somewhere."

"Wishful thinking," said Elsa in her regal voice, a smirk following showing her jesting.

Anna grinned and nudged her sister playfully. "Oh! You should take Olaf with you," Anna said, excitedly. "He's always wanted to see Corona. Plus, you know how much he and Sven and Pascal get along. OH! You should take Sven! I'll talk to Kristo—"

"Absolutely not," Elsa said, her voice stern and regal, this time showing only seriousness. "You're pregnant and I want Olaf right here with you. He can do more for you than he can do for me." Elsa paused and grinned. "Besides, imagine Kristoff's jealousy if Sven got to visit Corona and see the floating lanterns and he didn't."

Anna and Elsa both giggled again. "Fine," said Anna. "Just be sure and tell Rapunzel I said happy birthday and that I'm really, _really_ sorry that I couldn't make it."

"I will," replied Elsa, smiling at her younger sister. "Besides, I'll be fine," added Elsa. "It's a six day journey to Corona by ship, I'll be there for a few days, and then I'm leaving the day after Rapunzel's birthday. It'll be a little over a two week journey at best."

The black cloud that was their parents' very same promise of visiting Corona and returning safely suddenly loomed over both sisters. They both fell silent, their eyes falling to their shadows resting on the floor. Elsa gathered Anna's hands in her own and squeezed them gently, now she being the sister of reassurance. "I'll be okay," she whispered. "I promise."

Anna shook her head slowly, not looking up. Both sisters were quiet for several seconds, paying their respects to their dearly missed parents. Anna finally lifted her head and gazed at Elsa, a smile slowly taking shape across her lips. "Well, I guess with you being away from the kingdom for two weeks you won't be needing this," she said slowly, before perking up and snatching the crown from her sister's platinum blonde hair. "Haha, it's _mine!_"

It took Elsa a few seconds to process what had just happened. One second they were paying their respects to their parents and the next Anna was being playful and sisterly again. Elsa's eyes widened with feigned shock as her mouth hung agape. She grinned and then shouted, "Anna, get back here with my crown! I'm still your Queen!" Elsa took off after Anna who had already made her way out of Elsa's bedchamber.

"You'll have to catch me, first!" Anna screamed, jovially. "Maybe I'll need to make a stop in the kitchen for a chocolate-covered sandwich!"

Elsa paused. "Anna, that's gross," she shouted to her sister as she stood in the hallway.

"It's not me, it's the baby," Anna screamed, giggling as she turned the corner in the hallway, Elsa's crown still in her hand.

"Oh, Anna," Elsa muttered, grinning as she darted off down the hallway after her sister.

**[. . .]**

As Elsa continued to look out across the calm sea and remember her last day in Arendelle, she noticed the water ripple and then Ariel's red hair break through the surface. "Hey," said the mermaid, "I found something to braid your hair with." Elsa was still smiling vacantly at her memory as she looked down at Ariel. "You look like you're at peace."

The boat shifted and Ariel climbed in, her skin and scales glistening in the sun's warm, morning glow. Water dripped from her hair and from her sleek, slender body as she positioned herself alongside the blonde holding up several slimy strands of deep green seaweed. "You're going to put _those_ in my hair?" asked Elsa, hesitantly.

"Oh, don't worry, it'll hold." Ariel showcased her bra. "You see, mermaids use seaweed for a multitude of things. They're very durable. Plus, with your hair color the green will look spectacular!"

Elsa blushed. "Oh, well, thank you..."

Ariel nibbled on her bottom lip as Elsa blushed at her. "Oh, and I found something else down there!" Ariel held up several red leaves all connected to a thick, orange stem. The leaves were long and narrow with tiny hair-like follicles running up and down the sides of them. The thick, orange stem had drops of bright green liquid dripping from it where it looked like it had been chewed from its roots. "Merfolk call them redweed leaves. They help heal wounds and ease pain. They prevent infection. All you have to do is swallow some of this sap and lay the leaves across your body and they begin healing almost instantly. Works like a charm for merfolk."

"Does it work on humans?" asked Elsa.

Ariel cocked her head. "Hmm, that's a good question. I don't really know. Hopefully we never have to find out."

Elsa nodded her head. Ariel reached across Elsa and grabbed her leather satchel. "Oh, by the way, did you tuck me in last night?" asked Elsa.

Ariel opened her satchel and stuffed the redweed leaves in it. "If I said yes, would that freak you out?"

"Freak me out...? No, actually I found it quite sweet of you."

"Oh..." Elsa noticed a pink blush settling in Ariel's cheeks. "Well, I did. And, I gave you my satchel as a pillow. I figured sleeping in the boat couldn't be comfortable."

Elsa felt a smile growing across her lips as she imagined the mermaid tucking her in and gently placing the satchel under her head like a pillow. "Well, you're very sweet," said Elsa, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Anything I can do to help," replied Ariel, softly.

Elsa turned her head to Ariel, their eyes locking. In that moment, Elsa felt as if she could spend the rest of her life on the sea as long as she had Ariel with her.

"How about that hair?" murmured Ariel.

Elsa shook her head, breaking whatever spell the mermaid seemed to have over Elsa. "Uh, what?"

Ariel giggled. She motioned for Elsa to turn around so she could get a better handle at her hair. "Your hair," she said. "First, we'll need to wet it."

"Oh, right!" Elsa turned around, her back to Ariel. Staring out at the open sea, she realized how much duller it was when compared to looking at the beautiful mermaid behind her. She sighed.

Ariel reached her hand into the water and then ran it gently through Elsa's long, tangled locks. "Human hair is just so... rough. It's not like mermaid hair: soft and—"

"Wet?" said Elsa.

Elsa listened to the soft sounds of Ariel chuckling behind her. Her soft giggles filled Elsa with elation. "Well, of course it's wet. We live underwater. You expect it to be dry?" Ariel gently nudged Elsa, causing the Queen to grin. Ariel continued to comb her fingers through Elsa's disheveled hair. Elsa closed her eyes, her grin widening, as she enjoyed the light tugging at her scalp. "So, what were you thinking about earlier when I returned with the seaweed and the redweed?" asked Ariel, her voice soft and serene, just as it had been earlier.

Elsa moaned lightly to herself as she enjoyed the feeling of her hair being tugged. The sensations sent tingles down her spine. She took in a deep breath and quietly replied, "My sister, Anna. I miss her a lot and she's two months pregnant right now. I just wonder what she'll do when I'm not home in a few days. It was only supposed to be a six day journey from Corona to Arendelle and we've been out on the sea for two days now."

"Arendelle," inquired Ariel. Elsa felt the mermaid pull back on her hair with a bit more force and was surprised at how good it felt to have her hair being lightly pulled. Another rush of tingles went down her spine causing Elsa to shiver and grin. "Where's Arendelle?"

"Arendelle... Oh, that's right. I never told you where I was from. Arendelle is..." Elsa had to think for a moment. She had to recall what Ariel had told her the merfolk had dubbed Arendelle. "Oh! Arendelle is what you refer to as the Summersnow Kingdom. That's where I'm from. That's where I'm heading."

Ariel gasped. "You're from Summersnow?! Were you there when the whole kingdom froze over? What was it like? How did it happen?"

Elsa thought back to two years ago. She noticed her shoulders sink as she remembered running away from home, running away from Anna. "It... I don't know," Elsa lied. _"Be yourself,"_ Elsa heard Anna tell her. _"Just don't ever hide your true self from anyone. Be the person you're meant to be. Be proud of who you are."_

"It must have been beautiful to see all of that snow," said Ariel. "What's your sister like?"

"She's wonderful," said Elsa. "She's my rock, my foundation. She keeps me grounded. She's always been there for me even when I wasn't there for her. She's done so much for me and sometimes I wonder if I'll ever be able to repay her. She's my sister and I'd do anything for her, Ariel."

Elsa's head jerked back a bit as Ariel tugged on her hair once again. "I'm sorry," said Ariel. "Your hair is just really tangled. You were right; this—what's the word?—_humidity_ really does mess with your hair."

Elsa shivered as more tingles went down her spine. "Oh, don't worry about it," Elsa whispered, trying to mask a moan. _I never realized how much I enjoyed my hair being pulled._ She grinned. _Keep doing it..._

"I have six sisters," said Ariel, "and while being the youngest meant I was constantly picked on, I don't think I'd trade any of them for the world. Sure, I got into fights with all of them at one point or another, but what sibling doesn't, you know?"

"Six sisters," shouted Elsa, startled at the sheer size of her family.

Ariel giggled. "Yep, there are seven of us altogether. There's Attina, Alana, Adella, Aquata, Arista, Andrina, and me."

"Wow, and all of your names start with the letter A." Elsa chuckled. "I imagine that would get confusing every once and a while."

"Nah, not really," said Ariel, shrugging. "I mean, it did when it came to putting our initials on things. Just putting the letter 'A' on say a bra wasn't enough to clarify whose bra it was. We often had nicknames for each other. I was, of course, Red."

"Red," muttered Elsa. "I like that. You do have some beautiful red hair. Of course, you'll always be the salmon to my peasant to me."

Ariel laughed suddenly, boisterously, "My peasant!" The boat rocked back and forth as Ariel squirmed with laughter causing Elsa to join in with the laughter. When they both settled down, Ariel added, "Thank you. You have beautiful hair as well, if I can ever get it to cooperate, that is."

"You want me to do anything to try and help you?"

"Aside from jumping in the water and letting me braid your hair there, I'm not sure what else you can do."

_I could always use my magic to fix it in an instant._ Elsa sighed to herself. _But, you don't like magic..._

"I'll get it, don't you worry," said Ariel. "Why don't you tell me more about your sister?"

Elsa sighed again and sat back, keeping her back straight. The sun's warm, golden glow radiated against her skin as she went on talking about Anna. She kept all knowledge of her magic out of the conversation as well as the the fact that she was a queen and her sister a princess. As the morning went on, Elsa noticed her stomach beginning to growl.

"I think I'm getting hungry," said Elsa. "Are you getting hungry?"

"I could eat," said Ariel. "Is fish okay or would you like something else?"

"I think I'm good with fish. I'm not sure my stomach could handle anything else right now. Some fruits or vegetables would be preferred, but we need land for that and I don't see land anywhere nearby."

"You'll be home soon enough and when you get there you can have all the land food you desire."

Elsa smiled at the thought of being home again, but she couldn't deny how much she had grown to like Ariel in just one short day. _Maybe she could live in the fjord and we could get together every night and just hang out by the piers?_ Elsa noticed a bit of warmth settle in her heart at the thought of secretly keeping Ariel around. Suddenly, the boat shifted and the water rippled as the mermaid splashed into the sea.

"I'll be right back," said Ariel, her head the only part of her still above water.

"I trust you," replied Elsa, smiling down at her friend. Ariel and Elsa stared into each other's eyes for a long moment. Elsa felt the urge to reach out and cup the mermaid's cheek in her hand, but she resisted and kept her hand to herself. "You have beautiful eyes," murmured Elsa.

Ariel's cheek blazed red with a deep blush. "Oh, stop it..."

Elsa bit down on her lower lip as she continued to stare longingly into Ariel's sea green eyes. In that moment Elsa felt as if her heart had skipped a beat. A sudden rush of tingles went down her spine and dispersed throughout her body. She felt a blush settle in her cheeks and just as she went to lean toward the water to cup Ariel's cheek in her hand, the mermaid was gone. Her head disappeared beneath the water and Elsa was alone once again on the boat. She sat back and took in a deep breath trying to make sense of her feelings. What was this new sensation that she was feeling for Ariel? What was it about the mermaid that made her all tingly inside? Elsa picked up Ariel's satchel and held it in her arms against her chest as she waited for her friend to return to her with food.

**# # #**

Hours after having their fill of mackerel and enjoying stories shared at their sisters' expenses, Ariel had returned to braiding Elsa's hair. The sun was in its mid-afternoon descent making its way into the evening. The temperature had risen quite high throughout the day and Ariel had returned to the sea several times so that she wouldn't dry out. She finally had Elsa's hair completely tangle-free, though that didn't stop Elsa's hair from being frizzy and curling up at the ends. Ariel returned to the sea once more to wet her skin and scales. She kept her head above water so she could continue talking to Elsa.

"Your sister sounds lovely," said Ariel. "I bet you two had a wonderful relationship growing up to be as close as you are."

Elsa's smile faltered and her shoulder sank slightly. "Yeah," Elsa said, despondently. "We weren't always as close as we are. There was something that happened when we were younger that"—Elsa sighed not wanting to recount the memory—"caused our parents to keep us apart for many years."

Ariel stared up at Elsa with wide eyes that suggested sorrow and curiosity. She didn't have to ask as Elsa already knew what she was wondering, yet Ariel asked anyways. "What happened?"

"I... I hurt Anna. On accident." Elsa took in a deep breath, her jaw beginning to tremble. As she closed her eyes, she could see it all again: Anna playing in the snow in the ballroom of the castle, having the time of her life. She had been jumping from one pillar of snow to another expecting Elsa to keep up with her. However, Elsa had let her younger sister down. She hadn't been fast enough. As she went to build another pillar of snow, she slipped on some ice and cast a bolt of icy magic directly at her sister, hitting her in the head. The blow had rendered Anna unconscious and had led to the thirteen year absence of not being with her sister. Elsa's eyes stung with regret as two, hot tears carved their way down her cheeks. "It was my fault," muttered Elsa, her bottom lip quivering as she turned away from Ariel.

"I didn't... I didn't mean to make you cry," said Ariel, softly. "Elsa..."

Elsa sniffled and wiped her eyes. Not wanting to think back to that day as a child, Elsa changed the subject. She wanted to know why Ariel had such a problem with magic. "So, if you don't mind me asking," said Elsa, her voice still quavering, "why do you hate magic so much?" She turned back toward Ariel, wiping her eyes again, and gave the mermaid her full attention.

Ariel dipped her head underwater and resurfaced, her red hair clinging to her face. Ariel had removed her hair band earlier along with the starfish that she had been wearing for decoration behind her left ear and placed them both in her satchel for safe keeping. Ariel parted her hair and looked up at the blonde sitting in the boat. "Magic was how I became human," said Ariel. "I had always wanted to live my life on land, but I can't do that as a mermaid. It was never a _big_ dream of mine, I mean, but it had always been there in the back of my mind. I guess it stemmed from when I was younger and my mother would take me and my six sisters to the surface. Land was always so foreign and so majestic to us. It was the thing of wanting what you couldn't have. It wasn't fair that humans could have the land _and_ the sea, but we merfolk could only have the sea. I was always told it was just a dream to live on land, but then one day something changed.

"One day I found this man, Prince Eric of Glowerhaven, and something inside of me just sparked. I wanted to be with him; I wanted to be part of his world. Anyways, my father absolutely forbade it, so then I was told that my Aunt Ursula could give me legs and allow me to spend the rest of my life with Eric on land. My Aunt Ursula was a sea witch and little did I know at the time that she had tricked me into giving up my voice so I could have legs. I was supposed to get Eric to kiss me in three days and then I would have had my voice back and we could have gotten married and started our life together, but she used my own voice against me.

"Ursula used her magic to make herself human and she used _my_ voice to lure Eric to her. She almost succeeded, but I have friends that helped me defeat Ursula's evil plan. Eric and I, together, stopped my aunt and from that day on I've just always hated magic. It scares me. My father can use magic with the help of his trident, and while I trust him not to ever hurt me it still scares me. I feel like I can't trust _it_ or _anyone_ who uses magic, aside from my father, of course. Even myself..."

"You know magic?" said Elsa, her voice in awe.

"Incantations," she said, nodding her head. "My sisters and I learned several incantations growing up. I always thought they were a wonder. Then, Ursula used an incantation on me to make me human and take my voice and ever since then I never used them again. Magic wasn't for the good to use. It was evil, vile."

For the first time in two years, Elsa heard her father's voice speak to her. _"Conceal it, don't feel it."_ She tightened her fists and turned away from Ariel. She wanted so badly to be honest with Ariel, but she didn't want to frighten the young mermaid. The distant voices of people calling her a 'monster' began ringing in her head. Her eyes welled with tears again as she struggled to inhale a breath.

The boat shifted and Ariel returned to Elsa's side. She ran her hand along Elsa's back, comfortingly, her fingers tracing their way through her long, mostly-straightened hair. "What's wrong?" asked Ariel, her voice genuinely showing concern.

Elsa heard Anna's voice in her head again. _"Just don't ever hide your true self from anyone. Be the person you're meant to be. Be proud of who you are."_ And, in that moment Elsa wasn't sure whether to be proud or scared. What would Ariel think of her if she knew that Elsa had magic powers? Would she run, call her a monster, or accept her for who she was, who she is?

Elsa took in a deep breath, her lower jaw quivering. As she spoke, she stammered, "I have something to say to you..."

"What is it?" asked Ariel, curiosity piquing her interest.

Elsa felt another tear carve its way down her cheek. She was huddled over herself as she twirled her index finger and pointed it to the sky. "I guess saying it isn't the right word. I have something to _show_ you," she said, sniffling.

Ariel gasped. "Elsa, look! It's snowing again!" Elsa remained quiet. Ariel shook Elsa's shoulder trying to get her attention. "Look!" Elsa slowly turned around, her eyes red, puffy, and wet. "It's snowing!"

Elsa slowly opened her hand. Several thin streams of light blue ice made their way from Elsa's fingertips and thumb and met in the center of her hand forming a small ball of ice. Flakes of snow circled the icy ball in the palm of her hand, like a snow globe that had just been shaken. "I know," said Elsa slowly, her voice quavering as more tears made their way down her cheeks. "I did it. I made the snow."

Ariel was watching the snow fall from the sky. She looked at Elsa and noticed her tears. Elsa lowered her eyes to her hand and Ariel followed. The boat thrashed on the surface as Ariel shrieked. "You—You're..."

"I'm a—"

"Witch," Ariel shouted suddenly. "You're a witch! You tricked me!"

"No," Elsa cried, her chest heaving as she began to reach for Ariel with her free hand. "I didn't trick you. I swear! I was just scared—"

"You're a witch, a _monster!_" The boat thrashed about on the surface, water splashing from all sides as Ariel vacated the boat and disappeared beneath the surface.

"I'm not a monster," Elsa cried, her voice low and shaken. She sucked in a deep breath and cried to herself as she dropped the ball of ice from her hand, the snow melting and falling like rain around her. "Please, don't leave me," Elsa murmured. "I'm sorry..."

But, it was too late. Ariel had disappeared beneath the surface. Elsa was alone once again in the boat and this time she feared that her loneliness was permanent. Sucking in another breath, she let out another loud cry as she wept. "I'm sorry, Ariel!"


	9. Chapter 8: Forgive or Forget

**.**

* * *

**Chapter 8: Forgive or Forget**

* * *

**(****Ariel****)**

Ariel darted far beneath the surface, no longer wanting anything to do with Elsa or her magic. Her tail whipped in the water, up and down, beating currents to the surface, undoubtedly thrashing the very boat that contained the blonde witch. As she made her way further into the depths of the sea and into the swell of darkness rising from the seafloor, the once golden glow that had permeated the sea with its warmth had vanished. Ariel's dark-sea vision gave her sight as she barreled her way toward the seafloor.

When Ariel finally reached the seafloor, she had dove at it, her body crashing hard into the soft dirt and her tail coming down behind her, slamming into the smooth soil. A thick cloud of dirt and dust plumed up into the water, enveloping the mermaid. Ariel beat her fists into the soft dirt and let out a blood-curdling shriek that was sure to alert every known sea creature within fifty fathoms of her presence.

"How could I be so _stupid_ as to trust another human," she screamed. Her face was flushed coral red and she could feel her body seething, trembling, with anger and betrayal. "I fell for it again. _Again!_" Ariel continued beating her fists into the seabed, more dirt and debris exploding into the water around her.

"I hate humans! I hate them all!" Had she been human herself she was sure that her cheeks would have been stained with tears. As it were, though, mermaids don't cry tears like humans do. Ariel's breath trembled as did her jaw and her hands as she pounded her fists continuously into the soft dirt beneath her.

"I rescued a witch. I rescued _Ursula!_" Ariel thrashed her tail into the soft dirt of the seabed as if she was a little mergirl again throwing a temper tantrum. She felt incredibly childish at beating on the seafloor, but it also felt good to vent her anger. Plus, there was the added bonus of having no one around, like her sisters, to make fun of her for the way she was acting or for attempting to trust a human again.

The thought of rescuing someone like her aunt stayed in her mind, playing over and over, eliciting more anger from the young mermaid. Her sharp nails dug into the palms of her hands as her fists clenched tighter and tighter, bearing the whites of her knuckles. Even as she continued beating at the dirt with her fists and her tail and shaking her head violently to the point of nearly snapping her neck, she couldn't bring herself to erase the fact that she had rescued a witch.

"I should have let her drown," Ariel snarled, maliciously, as her fist slammed into the dirt. "I should have never saved her!" Her other fist hit the dirt. "I should have listened to father and not ventured to the surface." She beat her tail into the dirt. Ariel loved her father, but she hated admitting defeat to him, especially when it came to matters dealing with the surface. She knew there was potential to be had at being on the surface, just as her mother had known that as well, and to have her father's voice tell her, _"Stay away from the surface,"_ and to be right about it was a crushing blow to Ariel's spirit.

"She was supposed to be my prince," Ariel whimpered, her strength failing her. Not willing to let the heartache of her situation trump her anger, Ariel curled her upper lip and scrunched her nose; her eyes narrowed and her brows knitted together. She forced her heartache away and let her anger refuel her. A new wave of strength coursed through her being as she closed her fists and wailed away at the seabed once more.

After several minutes of beating her anger into the seabed, the dirt began to loosen and as it gave way a small nest of clams was revealed. Ariel, her fists still clenched, stared down at the large nest of mollusks. With nostrils flared, eyes narrowed, and her chest heaving with each tempered breath, Ariel reached into the nest of clams and picked up one for each hand. She beat them against each other, cracking their small, delicate shells. When they were broken, she dropped them and picked up two more, continuing her aggressive assault on the mollusks.

With each clamshell cracked or broken, Ariel began prying open each shell with her fingers, exposing their soft, meaty centers. She dug her sharp nails into the clams' pink flesh and savagely ripped them from their destroyed homes. She shoved one pink, meaty clam flesh after another into her mouth, now eating her way through her anger.

Ariel gnashed her teeth at the rubbery clam flesh and swallowed it all in one big gulp. The slimy, smooth texture of the clam meat reminded her of the phlegm she would occasionally get from being sick from when she was a human which upset her even more. She pounded her fists into the nest of broken clamshells and then darted out of the dirt cloud and went in search of other things to eat or destroy—things that wouldn't remind her of humans, especially of Elsa.

"I'm so stupid," Ariel growled. "How could I ever think a human would be any different than Eric? They all start out nice, but then their terrible secrets come to fruition and they all end up the same."

Of course, she only had experience with one human, that being Prince Eric, but that was enough for her. She vividly remembered the times that he would yell at her and make her feel useless and unwanted; or the times he beat on her just to see another bruise or a "trophy mark" as he had put it; he had stopped touching her intimately about four months into their relationship and looking back on it, perhaps it had been for the best, Ariel had thought.

Recollecting the horrible memories of her past as a human, Ariel thought about swimming, nonstop, until she returned home, but something subconsciously had stopped her. "I don't need Elsa. I don't need _any _human!"

Ariel swam on trying her best to settle her anger. She knew just how deadly an enraged mermaid could be. She had witnessed it the night that her father and his army of merfolk had rescued her from Glowerhaven. When a mermaid was upset, there was nothing short of death that would stop them.

As she spotted a school of mackerel far above her glimmering in the setting sun's warm, orange glow, she rose toward the surface. She darted into the school of mackerel and grabbed a fish with each hand. They squirmed and begged for her to let them go, but she would have none of it. She silenced one of the fish with a quick decapitation. Her sharp nails dug into their scaly bodies as her pointed teeth dug deep into one of the fish's flesh. She yanked its body from her mouth, a stream of warm crimson flowing from its severed body. She spit the head in the water, it sinking into the abyss, and as the other mackerel screamed and flailed for its life, Ariel ruthlessly proceeded to decapitate it in the same savage manner. When both fish were dead in her hands, Ariel viciously began tearing into one of their bodies with her sharp teeth—devouring not only flesh and bone, but scales as well. At this point, she didn't care what she was eating as long as she was satiating her anger by being the ruthless, carnivorous predator that she was.

When she finished with one fish, she threw what remains there were into the water and began tearing into the other mackerel's body. Scales glittered amid the reddish-orange water as Ariel chewed each bite with her mouth open, blood spewing from the mackerel's twisted remains. As Ariel finished, she again threw what she didn't want into the water. She darted off again, heading back down into the dark abyss, her stomach sloshing with raw fish and raw clam meat.

As she moved through the dark and quiet sea, Ariel began feeling more at home. The seafloor was covered in grass and amid the grass were sea slugs trying to occupy conch shells of all sizes; octopi had settled themselves in the seabed and were patiently awaiting stray fish to come along so they could grab them and eat them; starfish were hanging out on algae-encrusted rocks; an entire civilization of guppies were hiding among a large garden of sea anemones that surrounded a lush, green meadow grown almost entirely from lively seaweed.

She didn't want to admit it to herself, but the longer she swam, the slower she had moved. Ariel shook her head, trying to rid the thoughts of the blonde witch from her mind.

_I don't want to think about you, Elsa_, she growled in her thoughts. Her jaw was clenched tightly shut and her eyebrows were nearly knitted together. _You lied to me._ "You lied to me!" she shouted, her voice beginning to quaver as she made her way into the underwater meadow. She twisted in the water and dove into the seaweed, landing in the soft, lush underwater meadow.

With her anger fading, she could feel her jaw beginning to tremble. Ariel sucked in a deep breath of water and exhaled slowly, a stream of bubbles escaping her gills. Her heartache was returning, and while she didn't want to feel it, she had completely exhausted her anger. "Why couldn't you have just been a normal girl?" murmured Ariel, laying belly-down in the soft sea grass. "We were so wonderful together," she muttered, her face now buried in the crook of her elbow.

Her shoulders trembled as she began to weep softly to herself. "You were perfect in every way. You were caring, smart, kind, beautiful, funny, and you had to go and ruin it all by being a _witch_." Ariel lifted her head from her arm, her lip curled up in distain, as she said the word 'witch'.

Memories of her Aunt Ursula tricking her with sorcery into becoming a human returned briefly, but faded as her expression softened as she thought once again of Elsa. _I don't want to hate you. _As she said it to herself, she knew the truth. _I_ can't_ hate you…_

Ariel rolled over in the meadow, and yelped as something hard and pointy dug into her back. She arched her chest and reached under her back and pulled a small conch shell from the sea grass. She sighed and frowned as it reminded her of Elsa and the conch she had found in the Mantis Forest and had given to the blonde witch as a gift. She put the shell to her ear hoping the sea would whisper to her and let her know how to resolve her problem.

At first the conch was silent of all whispers, only the dull humming of the sea being heard. Ariel sighed, ready to throw the conch away, but then the hum softened and the shell whispered to her, _"Beware of the Queen."_ The voice of the sea dissipated and dull humming noise returned to the shell.

Ariel sighed. _The same message as before_, she noted. "I don't even know who the Queen is," Ariel said, meekly. "Who am I supposed to be wary of? You're whispering secrets to the wrong mermaid." She tossed the conch shell away and inhaled another slow, deep breath of water.

The soft, slimy seaweed surrounding Ariel tickled her back and her tail. Her red hair floated above her head and she couldn't resist a smile as she remembered Elsa touching her hair for the first time earlier in the day. _She said I have pretty hair. _Ariel scooped up a large handful of her hair and covered her face with it. _She likes my hair. _Ariel thought back to combing her fingers through Elsa's ratted, tangled hair. The grainy, sand-like texture of the sea salt embedded in her nearly cloud-white, blonde hair had felt unique to Ariel. _I like her hair_, she thought._ I like her smile and her voice. I like her icy blue eyes. I like her company. I miss her company._

_I miss _her...

Then, it made sense to Ariel. The fluttering heart, the flushed cheeks, the warm tingles she got from Elsa touching her. She didn't just miss Elsa, she _liked _Elsa.

Ariel rolled over on her belly again, her arms crossed in front of her. She lowered her forehead to her forearm and sighed. "I can't like her," she muttered. "I can't like _another_ human. Father will never allow me to be with another human, and especially a human witch at that." Her fingernails grazed the soft dirt beneath the meadow. "I can't like her. I can't."

Ariel sighed, heavily, her bottom lip trembling. She lifted her head and stared toward the surface, toward the stars. With her voice shaky and quiet, she asked, "What should I do, mother? What would _you_ do?" Waiting for an answer she knew she wasn't going to get, Ariel hung her head low with her tail slowly whipping through the sea grass. "I should just go home," Ariel muttered, her head falling back to her forearms, her jaw trembling. "What was I thinking swimming away from Atlantica in the first place?"

_"The surface is no place for a mermaid."_

There it was again, her father's voice reminding the young mermaid that she was in fact wrong for believing that she could make a life for herself out on the surface. Ariel closed her eyes and wept quietly, admitting her defeat. Her adventure and exploration for a new life was over. Atlantica was her home and it was time she returned.

"I wasted my time," she muttered pathetically, her voice quavering.

As she wept to herself in the quiet, open meadow, Ariel began seeing images of Elsa flash through her mind. Even though she had only met the blonde witch two days ago, she couldn't get over just how much she had grown attached to her.

Elsa had been grateful to the mermaid for having her life saved. She had eaten raw fish for her even though she preferred it cooked. She had listened to Ariel talk about her mother and the Floating Stars and what happens to merfolk when they pass on. Elsa had given more of her time to the mermaid than anyone else had in years, except for Sebastian. She had even used the seaweed blanket that Ariel has put together so she would stay warm at night; and, Ariel had trusted her enough to let her hang on to her satchel...

Ariel's eyes suddenly shot open. "Wait, my satchel… Where is it?" Ariel lifted herself from the underwater meadow and twirled around searching for her satchel. "It's not here. It's not here!" She stopped, her body floating in the water, and covered her mouth with her hand as she gasped once more. "Elsa…

"She still has my satchel. I left it and all of my belongings on the boat." Ariel began swimming hastily back and forth in the water. "What do I do? I could always ask her politely to give me my things, but what if she doesn't want to see me? I mean after the way I acted toward her, why _would_ she want to see me again?"

Ariel pondered her thoughts quietly as she drifted back into the lush meadow.

_I could always wait until nightfall when she's asleep and then go and get my stuff? That'll prevent her from having to see me and that'll prevent me from having to deal with her magic._ Ariel shuddered at the thought of magic. She used to always love magic when she was younger. Incantations were always fun to learn and to use, provided they were the safe ones taught exclusively to merchildren, but ever since her Aunt Ursula had cursed her with an incantation of her own, Ariel had had a hard time getting over it. She even avoided using the safe incantations—such as Song of Glee which could make any mermaid feeling upset or dejected feel temporarily happy and cheerful—ever since that fateful night seven years ago.

_Nightfall it is_, Ariel had decided.

She rolled over on her stomach and crossed her arms out in front of her, resting her chin on her hands. The bottom of the sea was dark, but it was calm. Being a mermaid, she knew she had little to fear laying out in the open seaweed meadow. She closed her eyes in an attempt to let sleep whisk her away to a world that was only accessible behind her eyelids. She turned her head slightly and inhaled a deep breath of water through her nostrils. She slowly exhaled it and before long she was asleep, only the sound of her soft snoring disturbing the otherwise silent, underwater meadow.

**# # #**

_ "__Elsa, look! It's snowing again!"_

_Ariel's smile stretched from one ear to the other as she looked to the heavens. White snowflakes trickled down from the cloudless sky above. They glimmered in the sun's radiant light. Each flake that hit her skin, her tongue, brought back a peaceful memory of her time in Glowerhaven before Eric had changed, before he had become physically and emotionally abusive to Ariel._

_Ariel, still gazing upon the falling snowflakes, leaned forward and shook Elsa's shoulder. "Look!" Ariel noticed the boat shift a bit as Elsa turned to face her. "It's snowing," said Ariel, excitedly._

_ "__I know." The voice was distant, but Ariel recognized it as belonging to her new friend, Elsa. "I did it. I made the snow."_

_Ariel furrowed her brows. She lowered her gaze from the falling snow to meet Elsa's beautiful, icy blue eyes and noticed that they were red and puffy, her cheeks wet and glistening in the sunlight. Ariel reached forward, placing her hand on Elsa's cheek. "What's wrong?" she asked, her voice tender and caring._

_ "__I did it," Elsa muttered, her voice quavering. "I caused the snow." Elsa lowered her head tucking her chin into her chest, her lips curling down into a frown. Ariel gazed down into the blonde's lap and saw what Elsa had meant._

_In Elsa's lap rested her hand and in the palm of her hand was a small ball of snow and ice being formed by five streams of ice coming from her four fingers and one thumb. Circling the ball of ice were tiny flakes of snow. Realizing that magic had to be the only answer as to how Elsa was doing this, Ariel jolted away from the blonde, her peasant, her friend._

_Fear enveloped Ariel and she lashed out in the only way she knew how. She shrieked, "You—You're—"_

_ "__I'm a—"_

_ "__Witch!" roared Ariel. "You're a monster!"_

_ "__No," Elsa cried, "I'm not! Please, Ariel…"_

_Ariel searched the boat quickly and picked up the closest thing she could find. Her fingers curled around the smooth, fuzzy thickness of the conch shell and before Elsa could say another word, Ariel launched herself at the blonde witch. Elsa shrieked and the boat capsized, emptying both Ariel and Elsa into the warm, salty sea._

_Elsa thrashed about, trying to keep herself afloat. Ariel, feeling superior in her element, grabbed Elsa by the ankle and pulled her under. Elsa flailed her arms trying to free herself from the mermaid's powerful grip and shot out ice all around her. Parts of the sea froze, but Ariel managed to miss the ice. She raised her arm and brought the conch shell down hard across the blonde witch's face. Blood spewed from Elsa's ripped skin and she let out a gargled scream. More ice shot from her hands, but Ariel dodged the magic. She twisted herself behind Elsa and grabbed a handful of blonde hair. She yanked it hard, nearly snapping Elsa's neck. Elsa stared up at the mermaid, her eyes wide with fear and betrayal. As she began to murmur a plea for the mermaid to stop, Ariel curled her upper lip and brought her hand high above her head. "Witch," Ariel growled, fiendishly. Her grip tightened around the conch as she brought it down hard toward Elsa's bloody face._

**[. . .]**

Ariel's hand twitched. Her eyes were clenched shut as was her jaw. Her tail whipped frantically and then suddenly she jolted awake, screaming, "Elsa!" Her body thrashed, disrupting the calm seawater around her. Some of the seaweed where her tail had been had been uprooted. She gasped for water, her gills working double time at providing her with oxygen. Her heart was pounding, threatening to rip through her chest. She clenched her eyes shut and pulled at her hair as she screamed, trying to rid her mind of the awful dream of brutally assaulting her friend.

"No! No! No!" Ariel cried, as she shook her head in protest, trying to erase the memories of her dream. "I won't hurt, Elsa! I won't! _I won't!_"

Her voice trembled as she screamed again. The seaweed and surrounding anemones rustled in the rippling, dark water as a large school of silvery-scaled minnows darted out of the tranquil, underwater meadow. Ariel lifted herself from the soft seaweed bedding she had fallen asleep in and darted off into the darkness, heading back the way she had come in search of her friend, in search of Elsa.

"I won't hurt her," she screamed.

**# # #**

As Ariel made her way to the surface, the water gleamed with the silvery glow of the moon. Amid the water's surface twinkled the reflection of the surrounding stars as if the very souls of the merfolk before her were encouraging the young mermaid to make her way back to her lost human friend. _Don't worry, Elsa, I'm coming_.

As Ariel approached the area in the sea where she had left Elsa, she noticed the boat was still in the same place or thereabout. Elsa hadn't rowed away. She had stayed put and for Ariel to have abandoned her over a little display of magic, she felt her heart shatter.

_What have I done? _she thought as she finally reached the boat. _I promised her I wouldn't leave her and what did I do? I left her! I abandoned her._

Ariel placed her hand gently on the bottom of the boat. She paused, unsure if she could return to Elsa. What _if _the gorgeous blonde wanted nothing to do with Ariel? Ariel had already made the mistake of abandoning Elsa; if Elsa's decision was to never see the mermaid again, then how could Ariel blame her?

Ariel didn't let doubt cloud her mind, though. She made the decision to go ahead and see Elsa. She gently whipped her tail up and down as her head silently broke through the surface. The cool night air hit her skin and she took in a deep breath of air, her lungs expanding in her chest. Her red hair plastered her face and she brought her hands forward, removing her hair from her eyes. As she lifted higher and higher out of the water, her breasts floated on the surface. The cool air caused her nipples to harden beneath her clamshell bra. Ariel peered carefully into the boat. The sight before her elicited a gasp from the young mermaid.

Elsa was laying in the bottom of the boat wrapped up in the dry seaweed blanket and clutching Ariel's satchel in her arms as if it were a sponged animal—soft, animal-designed sponges that merchildren were often given by their parents as a sort of security when sleeping alone. "Oh, my gods," Ariel murmured, transfixed on the site before her. "Elsa..." Ariel's voice trembled. "Elsa, I'm so sorry."

Ariel didn't want to disturb the sleeping blonde. Though her cheeks glistened with recent tears, Ariel could hear the soft, beautiful sound of snoring escaping Elsa's slightly parted lips. Ariel did her best not to shift the boat too much as she propped her arm up on the side of it. She reached in with her other arm and slowly and carefully stroked Elsa's wet cheek with the backsides of her fingers. She wiped away the recent tears, lowering her head in shame and regret.

"What have I done?" she whispered, her voice quavering. "Elsa, I'm _so_ sorry. You're not a monster. You're not a witch. You're just... you." She gently stroked Elsa's cheek again. Her skin was cool and soft to the touch. Ariel backed away and just stared down at her beautiful friend, or at least she had hoped they could still be friends. Her chest swelled with warm tingles as her heart fluttered. "I'm here for you," Ariel whispered reassuringly. "I'm not going anywhere. I'll get you home and I promise I will protect you from here on out. I won't leave you again."

Suddenly, it was as if her father telling her that mermaids don't belong on the surface just wasn't true any longer. Maybe not all mermaids belonged on the surface, but for as long as Elsa was stranded out at sea, the surface would be Ariel's home. Ariel gently rested her hand against Elsa's wet cheek again. Though she said nothing, her heart beat with every caring word in the world for the sleeping blonde.

With that, Ariel submerged beneath the water, holding the palm of her hand against the underbelly of the small, wooden life boat. She didn't want to let go as she felt she was close to Elsa as long as she kept her hand on the boat. But, knowing she had to sleep, she parted ways from it and drifted down to the seabed.

Unlike the soft meadow she had fallen asleep in earlier, this part of the sea was sandy and grainy. There were vacant shells all over the seafloor and in order to get comfy, Ariel had to dig up the dirt a bit so she could get passed the hard shells littering the seafloor. When she had made her place at the bottom of the sea, she curled up, wrapping her arms around her green, scaly tail, her tailfin covering her face. She took comfort in pretending that it was Elsa beside her instead of her own tail. She nuzzled her face into her tailfin pretending it was Elsa's soft, platinum blonde locks and pressed her lips against her tail.

"Sleep peacefully," Ariel whispered to her imaginary Elsa. "I've got you." She sighed peacefully as sleep had befallen her once again.

**# # #**

The next morning, Ariel had awoken to the warm, golden glow of the sun beating down on her through the still water. She was still holding her tail and smiled and hugged it extra tight upon remembering that it was supposed to be Elsa. "But, you're not Elsa," she whispered, letting go of her tail. Ariel rolled over in her small patch of soil and faced the surface. "Elsa is up there."

Staring up at the surface, Ariel furrowed her brows. Something was missing. She sat up and then pushed herself into the water, her body floating idly. She swam to the surface and realized what it was that was missing.

_Elsa!_

The boat was gone. Elsa had paddled off all alone. Ariel's eyes widened and her jaw hung agape. _Not again..._ "Elsa," she screamed. Her voice echoed but there was no reply. "Elsa!"

As Ariel turned in all directions trying to spot anything that looked remotely like a boat, she noticed something glimmer on the surface, like a dinglehopper when aimed just right in the sunlight. Ariel darted off, hoping it would be a clue as to where Elsa had gone. As she grew closer to the glimmer upon the surface she was awestruck at the sight. It wasn't a dinglehopper, but rather ice—a long stream of ice that continued on north for as far as Ariel could see.

_This has to be her doing,_ Ariel thought. _I have to find her!_ Ariel submerged and followed the long stretch of ice in hopes that it would lead her to her friend. After about an hour of nonstop swimming, Ariel's hopes had come to fruition.

Ahead, Ariel could make out the rounded underbelly of a small, wooden boat. She narrowed her eyes and beat her tail as hard as she could, her body ripping through the water at insurmountable speeds.

As she caught up with the boat, she resurfaced and yelled Elsa's name. Elsa paid the mermaid no attention and kept her arm outstretched at the back of the boat with a continuous stream of ice flowing from her hand. She faced forward and as Ariel yelled her name again, Elsa still ignored the mermaid.

With Elsa getting away from Ariel, Ariel had to swim again to catch up to her. Ariel beat her palm against the side of the boat trying to get Elsa's attention. "Elsa," she screamed. "Stop, please!" Elsa just kept facing forward with her arm outstretched, ice flowing from her hand.

Ariel submerged and did the only thing she could think of doing to get Elsa to stop. She beat her tail in the water and swam ahead quickly, reemerging in Elsa's path. Ariel watched as the boat grew closer and closer to her, seemingly not about to stop. _You can hit me, because I'm not moving._ The boat raced toward Ariel and in an abrupt stop, a small wave of water cascaded over Ariel's head knocking the young mermaid back.

"Get out of the way," Elsa said bluntly.

"Elsa, I need to talk to you," Ariel said, parting her hair from her face.

"Get out. Of the way." Elsa's voice was coarse and demanding, a voice Ariel hadn't heard from Elsa before.

"Please, I'm sorry. Just hear me out, okay? I'm sorry I freaked out yesterday."

Elsa was silent. Ariel stared up at the boat, her heart pounding in her chest, wondering whether the silence was good or bad. The boat shifted and Elsa came into view. Her eyes were narrowed. Her lips were straight and pursed. Her nostrils flared. This obviously wasn't good, Ariel noted.

"You're sorry," Elsa muttered. "You're sorry," she reiterated, her voice louder and growing more stern and agitated. "You don't get to say you're sorry," she shouted. "If I scare you so much, then leave! Forget about me!" Elsa's eyes began watering, whether from anger or heartache, Ariel couldn't tell. Though, she assumed anger. "I don't need you to get me home." Elsa's voice began quavering. "I don't need your company." She sniffled. "I don't need your friendship." Her jaw trembled as her voice caught in her throat. "And, I don't need your..." She couldn't bring herself to finish her sentence as she broke down and began crying. "I'm sorry you had one bad experience with magic, but _my_ _life_ has been one bad experience with magic after another."

Elsa sat back in the boat, disappearing from Ariel's view. Ariel moved forward, lifting herself up onto the boat. Her lips quivered and her voice shook. "Elsa, wait..."

"No," Elsa said, tears streaming down her cheeks. "I waited for you last night to return, hoping I could show you that I'm not a witch; that I'm _not _a monster. You never came back, though. You left me." Elsa's eyes showed what she was thinking and what Ariel knew was coming next. Ariel braced herself to the best of her ability in the moment. "You abandoned me. You broke your promise," Elsa whispered meekly.

There it was. Ariel had broken her promise. It ate at her last night and it ate at her now. Her shoulders slumped as she felt her heart break. "I didn't mean to," Ariel cried. "I was scared."

"Everyone's scared of me," Elsa screamed. She buried her face in her hands and wept. Ariel climbed in the boat and positioned herself next to Elsa. She wrapped her arms around the petite blonde, holding her for the first time since pulling her out of the sail the night she had almost drowned. Elsa put her arms around Ariel and held her tightly, her shoulders heaving as she wept. "I'm tired of people fearing me," she cried.

"I don't fear you anymore," Ariel whispered, her voice still slightly shaking. "You're not a witch. You're not a monster. I was wrong. You're just you."

Elsa continued to weep gently. "I just want to go home," she muttered.

"I'll get you home. I promise," said Ariel. "This time, I truly promise."

Elsa's arms tightened around Ariel's back. She buried her face in the crook of Ariel's neck and whimpered. Ariel began running her hand up and down Elsa's back, reassuringly. Being this close to Elsa and feeling her cool body against her own body and comforting Elsa felt all too right to the mermaid. Whatever it was that Ariel felt for Elsa, even if that feeling included liking her beyond friendship, she was willing to accept the fact that Elsa was magical so she could be close to her.

"Shh, I've got you," Ariel whispered as she ran her hands up and down Elsa's back tenderly. "I've got you."


	10. Chapter 9: Out of the Boat Into the Sand

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* * *

**Chapter 9: Out of the Boat and Into the Sand**

* * *

**(****Elsa****)**

Elsa held her hand back over the edge of the boat and shot a continuous stream of ice from her palm and into the water, causing the boat to rip through the surface of the sea. Elsa sat behind Ariel and watched as the mermaid took in the new feeling of speed that she was sure Ariel had never experienced before. Their hair whipped behind them in the rushing wind. The cold sea sprayed them as the boat soared through the water. With her arms outstretched and her head held high, Ariel managed to take most of the spray. Elsa watched contentedly as Ariel enjoyed the ride.

"How do you like my magic, now?" Elsa shouted over the roar of the wind.

"I had no idea magic could be used for such... joy," Ariel shouted back to Elsa. She whipped her hands through her flying, red hair and shouted various words of excitement. Elsa could only giggle.

"I'm glad that you like it," Elsa shouted.

Ariel turned around, twisting on her tail. Her hair whipped across her face with a few strands getting caught in her mouth. She brushed them away and Elsa laughed at the adorable mermaid. Ariel's entire front was soaked from the sea spray.

"I've been on ships before, but I've never experienced anything like this," Ariel shouted. Her hair continued to whip violently in the heavy wind.

"To be honest, I've never done anything like this either. When I started paddling away this morning I figured I was going to be alone for the rest of the journey home so why not use my magic? Then, this idea came to me and it turned out to work like a charm."

Ariel became quiet. Even as her wet, red hair whipped through the air around her face, nearly burying it in those soft, slimy locks, Elsa could see Ariel's head lower as if in shame. Elsa closed her hand and the icy stream shooting from her palm ceased. The boat slowed and then came to a stop. Elsa's and Ariel's hair were disheveled, poufy messes falling down their backs and across their chests. Then, as the boat shifted with Elsa moving closer to the mermaid, Ariel looked up and noticed tiny snowflakes falling around her.

"I do forgive you," Elsa said reassuringly. She leaned forward and took Ariel's hands in her own. Ariel's skin was soft and smooth and cold to the touch, similar to Elsa's own skin. "You don't have to feel bad for abandoning me. You came back."

"That's not the point," Ariel muttered, her eyes a stark contrast of the excitement she had been showing only a few moments ago. "When you first saw me—a mermaid!—you freaked out, but then you were almost immediately okay with me. But, when I first saw your magic—"

"You were in complete and utter awe," Elsa said. Ariel lifted her head sharply, her gaze returning to Elsa's. "Remember when you returned with the shrimp I had carelessly thrown out to sea? There was snow. That was me. You loved it. Maybe you didn't know it was me at the time, but you still liked it."

Elsa moved in closer to Ariel, her knee grazing the mermaid's scaly, green tail. A rush of warm tingles went up Elsa's leg and she managed to hide the shiver that then went up her spine. _She feels so good against me..._

"No matter how you reacted upon seeing me use magic for the first time, the most important thing is that you came back. You didn't abandon me."

"I know, but..." Ariel sighed, shaking her head. "It's like you said earlier. I based you having magic on one bad experience _I_ had with magic and then freaked out on you. I called you a witch, a monster." Ariel pulled her hands away from Elsa's and wrapped them around herself. "You're not any of those things." Elsa could hear Ariel's voice beginning to quaver. "You're..."

"Elsa," the Queen of Arendelle whispered. She reached into the long strands of slimy, red hair that had covered Ariel's face and found the mermaid's chin. She curled a finger under it and lifted Ariel's head, her hair falling away from her face as their eyes slowly met. "I like having you with me," Elsa admitted, her voice soft and compassionate. Her lips curved up and a pink blush filled her cheeks as her eyes fell upon Ariel's red, plump lips. "Honestly, I had hoped you would return."

Elsa felt another rush of warm tingles, this time swelling in her chest and dispersing throughout her body; her fingers and her toes tingled. Her heart beat rapidly against her chest. Her eyes lifted from Ariel's lips back to her sea green eyes. Realizing she was still holding Ariel's chin, Elsa lowered her arm slowly and brought it back to her lap. She ran her other hand over her finger cherishing the feeling of Ariel's soft, strong chin.

"I came back last night," Ariel admitted, her voice barely above a whisper. "You were asleep in the boat and I didn't want to wake you... I wiped the tears from your cheek."

The tingling sensations in Elsa's body gathered in her face and swelled as she felt her eyes water. Her cheeks grew hot and she knew they were red, but she couldn't bring herself to care. "You came back to me last night?"

Ariel nodded slowly. "I felt horrible. I wasn't sure if you'd want to see me after the way I left you, so I wanted to wait until you were asleep. I was coming back for my stuff, but when I saw you lying in the bottom of this boat wrapped up in the seaweed blanket I made for you and clutching my mother's leather pouch like a sponged animal, I knew right then that you weren't a bad person and that not all magic was evil. I knew right then that what I had done was a mistake and that you didn't deserve to forgive me, but if you would then I would never leave you again. I value our friendship, Elsa. I value you."

Elsa's heart swelled with elation and she closed her eyes, two tears etching their way down each cheek. Her jaw trembled and her voice quavered. "I value you, too, Ariel."

Ariel placed her hands on either of Elsa's cheeks and used her thumbs to carefully wipe away the falling tears. Both women slowly brought their heads together until their foreheads touched all the while staring longingly into each other's eyes. In that moment, Elsa wanted to wrap Ariel up in her arms and embrace her in a hug. She wanted to feel Ariel's cool skin, wet hair, and slimy scales against her entire body. Her courage failed her in that moment, though, and she settled for a smile instead.

Ariel smiled right back at Elsa. "No more crying, then," she said softly. Her voice picked up with elation as she added, "I want the rest of our journey to be filled with fun, laughter, and joyous adventuring!"

Elsa sniffled and wiped her nose with her finger. "Deal," she said.

Ariel slowly removed her hands from Elsa's face, but kept her gaze locked with the blonde's. Elsa had wished at that moment that her powers included reading minds so she could know what Ariel was thinking, but perhaps it did better not to know? Elsa inhaled a deep breath, calming herself. She wiped her eyes and turned her attention to the sky.

The sun was just past its peak and Elsa figured that the time of day was somewhere in the early afternoon. There were a few stray clouds in the otherwise empty, blue sky and not even a breeze blew across the sea. The heat beating down on Elsa and Ariel was incredible, but luckily for Elsa her magic enabled her to withstand the heat as much as it enabled her to withstand the cold. Ariel on the other hand needed to stay wet during the immense heat to keep from drying out and while sailing at high speeds kept the mermaid wet due to the sea spray, sitting idle only aided in drying her out.

The boat shifted and a splash followed. Elsa looked to the sea to find Ariel, but she was gone. Elsa twirled her finger and pointed it to the sky, sending a tiny, sparkling beam of snow and ice above her. Snow began to fall around Elsa and the boat as she looked over the edge and into the water.

The sea was clear and sparkling and clean. Fish swam beneath the boat and Elsa smiled watching them.

_Where did Ariel go, little fishies? Where's my salmon?_

Elsa jumped when a splash of water hit her on the back of her head followed by the innocent giggling that she had grown used to over the last three days. Elsa whipped around to see Ariel, but the mermaid was gone. She furrowed her brows in confusion and then jumped again as another splash of water hit the back of her head followed again by Ariel's child-like giggling.

"I'll get you," Elsa warned, her inflection implying her jest.

"You have to spot me, first," said Ariel.

Elsa turned to where the voice was coming from but Ariel was gone again. The water rippled all around the boat and each time Ariel resurfaced Elsa was just a couple seconds too late to spot her. "You know I could freeze the area around this boat and capture you in ice."

"You could," said Ariel. Elsa whipped around to spot Ariel, but she disappeared. "But, you won't," added the mermaid, returning to the surface. Elsa quickly followed Ariel's voice, but the red head was once again gone.

"And what makes you think that I won't?" asked Elsa, turning her head in all directions hoping to spot Ariel.

"I think you like me too much to encase me in ice."

Elsa's cheeks turned red as she stammered, "Uh, what do you mean?"

"You know, as friends," said Ariel. Another splash of water hit Elsa's head and as the blonde Queen turned to spot Ariel, the mermaid had vanished.

As Elsa shifted in the boat, she could feel her reddened cheeks beginning to cool. The prospect of liking Ariel as anything more than a friend had enticed the Queen, yet she didn't know why. What was it about Ariel that brought the shy, heart-fluttering side out in Elsa? "You must have been really great at playing hide and seek with your sisters," said Elsa.

"What's hide and seek?" asked Ariel, briefly returning to the surface.

"It's a game," Elsa said, peering over the edge of the boat in anticipation of catching Ariel, "in which someone hides and the other players try and find the person hiding."

"Oh, that sounds like fun."

Elsa whipped around and found Ariel floating at the surface on her back. Her red hair was splayed out across the surface and her hands were tucked up under her head. Her tailfin gently beat across the water as Ariel now circled the boat on her back. Her green tail glimmered in the golden sunlight and her wet skin sparkled. She truly was a beautiful sight to behold, noted Elsa.

"I found you," Elsa said, her lips curving up in a grin.

"I let you find me," said Ariel, smiling. She continued to float on the surface, absorbing the sunlight and admiring the peace and tranquility of the moment. "Sometimes it's fun to play tricks on humans. My father says we're not allowed to come to the surface nor are humans allowed to know about us, but honestly most of us are quite mischievous. When we do manage to sneak away and go to the surface, it's fun to find a ship and just play around with the people onboard. Sometimes we'll kick our tails in the water and make the sailors believe we're dolphins. Sometimes we'll emerge for just a few seconds, long enough for the sailors to get a glimpse of us and then we'll disappear into the abyss again, leaving the sailors to speculate as to what they _really_ saw. Was it a human? Was it a fish? Are mermaids real? They'll never know." Ariel grinned. "And, that's what's really fun."

Elsa giggled. "You're horrible!"

"We're mermaids. Sure, we may not _exist_ to humans, but our legend will always live on in songs and stories that you humans create about us. I've heard some of them, being human once myself."

"Do you know any of the songs?"

"You don't know any of them?"

"I'm not a sailor."

"What were you doing on the ship, then?"

"I was—" Elsa paused. She had yet to reveal to Ariel that she wasn't just a citizen of Arendelle, but that she was the Queen. "Uh, I was..."

"Eh, no worries," said Ariel. The water rippled as Ariel sat up, her tail disappearing beneath the surface and her breasts floating above it. Her wet, red hair clung to her neck and shoulders and floated around her on the water's surface. "I know a couple of the songs."

"Could you sing one of them to me?" asked Elsa. She placed her elbows on the side of the boat and propped her chin in her hands as she marveled at the gorgeous mermaid.

Ariel reached for the boat and pulled herself in. She arranged herself so her tail was hanging over the edge with her fin floating on the surface. Her body glittered in the radiant sunlight.

"I can do that," she said, flashing a smile at Elsa. "I actually really love to sing. It makes me feel closer to my mother." Ariel paused with a wide smile on her face. Elsa could tell that she was recollecting memories of her dearly departed mother. "Anyways, what song would you like to hear first? _Fathoms Below_ or—"

"Either," said Elsa quickly. _I just want to hear your beautiful voice sing me a song._ "Either song will do."

Ariel smiled and sat back. She stretched her arms along the side of the boat, her long, red hair falling down her chest and covering her bra, and flashed Elsa a wink. She appeared as if she was about to perform on stage as if she had sang on stage before. Ariel inhaled a deep breath and when her voice left her lips, Elsa was immediately lured in by her breathtakingly beautiful singing. Like the legends of sirens luring sailors in with their voices, Elsa felt like the sailor to Ariel's siren.

Elsa stared at Ariel, her eyes unwavering, as if the red head was the only thing in the world that mattered in that moment. Everything around the mermaid faded away: the water, the boat, the sun, the sky. Only Ariel's presence and her voice remained.

_Listen to the sounds_

_To the sounds out at sea_

_You can hear them singing_

_Their songs sweet as can be_

_"Mermaids aren't real!"_

_Is what they'll tell you and me_

_But listen, O' listen_

_To the sounds of the sea_

_Listen, O' listen_

_To the songs out at sea_

_Listen, O' listen_

_To the maidens of the sea_

Elsa's mouth hung agape. Her eyes were wide and she was still entranced. Never before had she heard a more beautiful voice. She wanted to praise Ariel, but her mind was clouded, hazy. She couldn't get that voice out of her head. Her heart swelled with elation as warm tingles dispersed from her head down to her toes.

"That was my personal favorite of the mermaid songs," said Ariel. "It's called _Maidens of the Sea_. It's not very long, but most sailor songs aren't. What did you think?"

Elsa tried to speak but nothing coherent came from her mouth. She managed to smile stupidly and then could only bring herself to clap like a fool. Ariel giggled. "That good, huh?" Elsa nodded her head slowly. "Do you want to hear the other song _Fathoms Below_?"

Elsa nodded, still unable to speak.

Ariel stretched her back, curving slightly over the side of the boat with her arms extended high above her head. As her breasts jutted out from her chest, strands of red hair fell by her side exposing the bra that she had fashioned from clamshells. Elsa slowly and carefully took in the full sight of the mermaid again, adoring just the sheer beauty of what the sea had to offer. As her eyes made their way back up Ariel's long, glossy, shimmering tail and to her toned abdomen and up to her chest, Elsa noticed her eyes settling upon Ariel's breasts. She thought back to first meeting Ariel and seeing her breasts bare and exposed and how flushed she had been. Her cheeks grew hot and red as she stared at them once again. Ariel sat up straight and inhaled a deep breath of air—ready to sing another song to Elsa. Just as she was about to begin to sing, her eyes widened and she screamed, "Scuttle!"

Elsa jumped, startled by the mermaid's abrupt scream. She noticed Ariel staring up at the sky and so she looked up with her. There was a bird quickly descending from the sky toward the boat. As it grew closer and finally landed Elsa recognized it. It was the seagull that had been with Ariel the first time Elsa had awoken after fainting from their real first encounter.

Ariel began squawking and chirping at the bird. Elsa furrowed her brow and cocked her head in confusion. Ariel seemed to be beyond happy at "communicating" with the bird. The seagull squawked back at Ariel and Ariel laughed. She ran her hand down the bird's back as if petting it in the same manner that Kristoff and Anna would pet Sven. Ariel squawked again and then that's when it dawned on Elsa. Ariel was speaking to the bird. She had forgotten that Ariel had told her that she could talk to the bird. Elsa sat back and watched and listened as Ariel continued to squawk.

After a few minutes of listening to Ariel speak _Bird_—or whatever language it was that birds spoke, Elsa thought—Elsa couldn't hold back any longer. She began giggling at the ridiculous sounds the mermaid was making. Ariel peered over at Elsa and smiled. "What's so funny?"

"Uh, nothing," Elsa said, giggling a bit more. "Just keep speaking to... your bird."

Ariel gasped. "Oh my, Poseidon! I'm so rude! Elsa, this is Scuttle." Ariel turned to Scuttle and squawked. Elsa could only imagine that Ariel had said, _'Scuttle, this is Elsa.'_ She giggled again when thinking about it.

When Elsa was a lot younger and before she and Anna had been separated because of the head incident, Elsa and Anna would often spend a lot of time outside playing together. Elsa was always trying to impress Anna one way or another and Anna was always about making Elsa laugh. One way Anna went about doing that was by making animal noises. She had always told Elsa that _"I'm an animal trapped in a human body. Help me, Elsa! Help me live like..."_ and then whatever animal Anna happened to feel like at the time. Elsa would then help Anna live like an animal. Sometimes that meant covering her in dirt if she happened to be an animal living underground; or splashing her with water from the fjord if she happened to be a fish; or, Anna's personal favorite, making it snow so she could live like a bear or a reindeer. While Kai and Gerda, the royal servants to the former King and Queen of Arendelle, didn't like this, because it meant the girls would need another bath, Elsa and Anna always found it fun.

As Ariel continued to squawk at Scuttle all of those warm memories of her and Anna returned. She sat back and reflected on them while admiring Ariel.

After a few minutes of reminiscing her youthful past, Elsa's reverie was broken as Ariel shouted her name. Elsa shook her head and brought her attention to Ariel with a perplexed glare.

Ariel giggled. "I said we need to follow Scuttle. We have a surprise for you."

Elsa turned her head to where Scuttle had been sitting and noticed he was gone. She looked to the sky and saw him hovering above the boat. "What's the surprise?"

"Now, if I told you it wouldn't be much of a surprise, would it?" said Ariel. "You'll just have to wait and see." She grinned and cocked an eyebrow as if trying to be sly about wherever it was she wanted Elsa to go.

Elsa looked back up at Scuttle as he hung over the boat, slowly flapping his black and white wings. "So, follow him?"

Ariel nodded. Trusting Ariel, Elsa extended her arm behind her ready to propel the boat through the water with her magic, but then she stopped. "Wait, I need to know something." Ariel stared at Elsa intently, her eyes getting wide and her smile slowly stretching wider across her face. "How is it that you can talk to a seagull?"

"Oh, well, merfolk speak all languages. It's a gift from our god, Poseidon." Ariel sat back in the boat, relaxing again. She stretched her arms across the sides of the boat and let her tailfin slap the surface of the sea. "Let's see, how do you humans put it? Uh, I'm very good with my tongue."

Elsa sat in the boat quietly with her arm hovering over the water. She could feel her cheeks radiating an immense heat and not just because the sun was beating down on her. She certainly didn't need Ariel's giggling to let her know that her whole face had just turned beet red. The Queen noticed a lump forming in her throat and while trying to swallow it, she couldn't get it to budge.

"What?" said Ariel, through her giggling. "You look like you've seen me—what was the word?—nude, again."

Flustered, Elsa opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. _Oh my..._ She opened her mouth again, trying to speak, and this time she stammered, "Uh, I think you mean you're fluent in many tongues."

"But, I only have one tongue," said the mermaid, innocently.

"It... It's a figure of speech. Saying someone is fluent in many tongues is the same as saying someone is fluent in many languages."

"Humans are weird." Ariel sat forward and flashed Elsa another grin. "Can't I just say that I'm good with my tongue?"

In that moment, Elsa felt as if she was sitting over a fire. Her whole body was warm and her cheeks were fiery hot. She could feel the warm flush spreading to her neck and to her chest. She was sure that at any moment she would start melting. When trying to speak, she only managed to squeak, "Why?"

Ariel inhaled a deep breath, calming herself from her giggle fit. She grinned devilishly at the blonde and leaned forward. In an almost seductive whisper she said, "I like to see you blush."

Elsa buried her face in her one free hand and used her other hand to shoot a continuous stream of ice into the water, causing the boat to accelerate quickly without warning. The jerk of the acceleration knocked Ariel back and she landed in Elsa's lap. Her soft, red hair covered Elsa's thighs and her arms dangled over both legs, her nails gently grazing the skin of Elsa's slightly fuzzy legs. As Elsa tried to focus on following Scuttle, she couldn't resist the shiver going up her spine and how her skin was breaking out in goose bumps at the gentle grazing at her legs.

"I feel comfy like this," shouted Ariel over the roar of the sea spray. "I think I'll just lay here until we get to land."

Elsa did her best to resist the mermaid. Her heart pounded in her chest. Her breasts swelled with the same warm tingling sensation from earlier causing her nipples to slightly harden. She had butterflies in her stomach and on top of that she felt the sudden urge to run her fingers through Ariel's hair and along her smooth, cool skin. Then, it hit her as to what Ariel had said.

"Wait, did you say land?" shouted Elsa.

"Oh, did I?" shouted Ariel, innocently. "Oops, it was supposed to be a surprise!"

"We're going to land?"

Ariel nodded her head against Elsa's belly. "Just follow Scuttle!" She pointed her finger up at the flying seagull. "He said it's about another hour or so from here. It is slightly out of the way seeing as how we're heading east, but I didn't think you'd mind since you've been out on the water for so long."

"We're going to land!" shouted Elsa, jovially.

Ariel giggled. "Yes, we're going to land."

Elsa's eyes widened with elation and then as quickly as she was happy to be heading to land, she thought of Anna and lost all excitement. "No, wait, I can't," shouted Elsa. "I need to get home!"

"This will only be a slight detour," shouted Ariel. Sea spray wetted them and the rushing wind had their hair whipping around in all directions. "You need land as much as I need water and while I enjoy you being out here with me, I want you to have at least a few hours on land. We'll be there just for tonight. We'll leave at sunrise tomorrow, I promise."

Elsa considered it. She really did want to get home. That was her first priority, her _only_ priority. She didn't want to worry Anna especially since she was pregnant, but at the same time Elsa couldn't deny how much she just wanted to step out of the boat and stretch her legs, let her toes curl in the sand, and hopefully eat something other than fish.

Elsa nodded her head, the corner of her lips rising. "Okay," she said. "But we _must_ leave first thing in the morning!"

"Will do," Ariel shouted. "Now follow that bird while I get comfy between your legs."

Elsa's elated grin faltered as she felt another blush rise from her chest and settle in her cheeks. She did her best to focus on the travel and not Ariel's words, but they were hard to resist. Her skin broke out in a new wave of goose bumps and the tingling warmth returned to her breasts, her nipples once again hardening beneath her worn nightgown. Elsa inhaled a deep breath of salty sea air and shook her head, doing her best to clear her mind of Ariel's seemingly indiscreet innuendos. She focused on Scuttle, but was reminded of Ariel's presence every time the mermaid's fingernails brushed along the skin of her legs, which happened to be quite often and, if Elsa hadn't known any better, on purpose. She did her best anyways to not think about it, though it made the hour long detour a real challenge for Elsa.

**# # #**

When they finally arrived Elsa marveled at the beautiful sight before her. Sand as white as a flax sail littered the beach. Magenta and white lilies lined the trees at the beach and littered the shallow incoming surf. The water was crystal clear and sparkled radiantly amidst the sun's warm, golden glow. Lush, green trees covered the island beyond the sandy beach, most dotted with purple and pink magnolias and the others standing tall bearing their hanging fruit. Beyond the trees in the distance was a large mountain covered in lush, green foliage, though it was nowhere near as large as the North Mountain just beyond Arendelle. The island felt like a dream, something Elsa would conjure up in her mind to make her feel better about being lost out at sea.

Ariel hopped out of the wooden life boat and slithered in the sand, pulling the boat up on shore. She slithered away and flopped down on her back in the warm, white sand.

Elsa slowly reached over the side of the boat to touch the sand. She hesitated fearing that if she touched the sand, then it would all disappear like some cruel dream. Ariel lifted her head and gazed upon Elsa. "Come on, Elsa," she urged, "you've been wanting land for three days now. Get out of the boat and come enjoy it!"

Elsa inhaled a deep breath and as her fingertips touched the silky, warm sand she felt her eyes well up with tears. Elation filled her being and she gasped, followed by a wide smile. _Sand. Land. I can't believe I'm finally back on land._ Elsa stepped out of the boat slowly and as her toes touched the sand she felt a shiver go up her spine.

"Thank you," Elsa whimpered. "Thank you, Ariel! Thank you for this."

Ariel was on her back with her arms outstretched above her head. Her red hair was splayed out all around her with sand littering her hair. Ariel moved her arms about her body as if to create a sand angel while her tail wriggled in the seafoam that washed up on the bank. Water lilies drifted up with the gentle tide and as the seafoam washed over Ariel's tail, the flowers remained on her, as if the sea was decorating her. "Don't thank me," she said. "Thank Scuttle. He's the one who brought up the island in conversation. He said there's human food here like berries and fruit and such. I only asked him if he could get us here."

Elsa fell to her knees and picked up a handful of sand. She poured it over herself feeling the rough granules settle in her hair and fall down her shoulders, chest, and back. She looked around for the seagull and noticed him pecking away at the sand as if trying to find a worm. "Thank you, Scuttle," Elsa shouted, unsure if whether the bird could understand her. Then, in a fit of excitement, Elsa followed it up with a squawk of her own.

Scuttle looked up and squawked back at Elsa while flaring his wings. Ariel sat up abruptly with sand falling from her hair and her back. "Elsa! You just insulted his mother!"

Elsa's eyes widened. "Oh, I'm sorry... What did I say?"

"You called his mother a pigeon... whatever a pigeon is."

Elsa shifted her eyes. "Oh... I'm sorry, Scuttle," Elsa shouted. "Thank you for finding this island for me!"

Ariel turned and squawked back at Scuttle. "It's okay. I told him it's your first time speaking _Gull_."

Elsa grinned and scooped up more sand. She rubbed it along her arms and then fell into the sand. She turned over on her back and stretched out. "It feels so nice being back on land," she shouted jovially.

"Come, join me over here," said Ariel. Elsa turned her head and noticed the spot beside Ariel. She immediately blushed.

"But, I'm comfy right here."

Ariel grinned. "Okay, fine." Ariel rolled in the sand several times until she was lying beside Elsa. "I'll just come to you, then."

Elsa's cheeks blazed with crimson. Ariel began writhing slowly and sensually beside Elsa. She moaned softly enjoying the warm, soft sand on her skin. Elsa's pulse quickened. "This warm sand feels _so_ nice against my skin and my tail. How does it make you feel, Elsa?"

Elsa swallowed hard. "It feels... nice," she choked out.

"Sometimes it's nice to just lay out in the sand and in the sunlight, huh?"

Elsa nodded. "It is." Though her cheeks were still flushed, Elsa couldn't resist a smile. While nothing would quite compare to being back in Arendelle, this island would happily suffice for the night. She had warm sand, beautiful scenery, fresh fruit to eat, and a wonderful friend beside her. Considering her circumstances, life was as perfect as it could be for the Queen of Arendelle.

Ariel sat up on her side with her head propped up on her hand. She looked Elsa up and down before finally resting her gaze on Elsa's face. "It was all worth it," she cooed.

Elsa turned her head to Ariel. "What was?"

"This. Saving you. Getting to know you. Seeing you smile. It was all worth it."

Elsa gently bit down her lower lip as another blush filled her cheeks. "Thank you for all that you've done," Elsa said tenderly.

Ariel smiled, holding her gaze with Elsa's. Elsa's eyes returned to Ariel's lips and then back to her sparkling, sea green eyes. Suddenly, Elsa jerked as sand landed across her body. Ariel grinned and rolled over and away from the blonde. She sat up in the sand and slithered away, heading for the shallow water coming up the beach. "I bet you can't get me," she shouted, giggling as she fled.

Elsa's heart fluttered in her chest as she watched Ariel move graciously through the sand. She sat up and got to her feet and opened her palm, forming a snowball in the center of her hand. "Oh, I'll get you, but it won't be with sand!"

Elsa lobbed the snowball at Ariel, barely missing her. It landed in the seafoam and melted upon impact. Ariel giggled again as she dove forward, landing in the water and swimming up the bank. Elsa chased her on foot, continuing to throw snowballs at the mermaid all the while both women laughing and enjoying one another's presence on the island.


	11. Chapter 10: An Island for Two

**.**

* * *

**Chapter 10: An Island for Two**

* * *

**(****Elsa****)**

The sun was nearing the horizon, cascading its reddish, orange glow across the lush, beautiful island. The trees rustled as a breeze blew overhead and crickets chirped from beyond the lush foliage. Birds flew through the sky, squawking and chirping, as they disappeared into the forest beyond the beach. The tide washed up on the beach gently, covering the sand in white foam.

Elsa's eyes fluttered open. Her mouth opened wide with a yawn. She stretched her arms in the cool sand and then sat up. Beside her was Ariel, sprawled out on the beach still covered by the shade of the boulder they had taken refuge next to. Elsa averted her gaze to the beautiful mermaid lying beside her. Ariel's chest rose and sank gently with each slow breath. One arm was draped over her eyes and her tail was lying in the dark, wet sand, covered in the light, frothy sea foam. Ariel was dead to the world. Elsa felt the corner of her lips lift as she watched Ariel sleep.

Since arriving on the island earlier in the day, both Elsa and Ariel had been staying active. It had all started with Ariel throwing sand at Elsa which led to Elsa chasing Ariel along the beach while chucking snowballs at her. Afterwards, they played on the beach together: building sand castles, covering one another in sand, and making sand angels. It had all culminated in Elsa and Ariel laying near each other in the shade of a large boulder along the foreshore with the gentle high tide washing up on Ariel's tail from time to time so she wouldn't dry out completely. They had fallen asleep in the shade and now Elsa was awake several hours later with Ariel still sleeping.

Ariel's other arm, that hadn't been draped across her eyes, had been outstretched toward Elsa. The mermaid had offered Elsa a place to snuggle up next to her and even though Elsa hadn't taken the offer, Ariel had left her arm open anyway in case Elsa would have happened to reconsider the offer. Elsa twisted around and surveyed the lush foliage beyond the beach. The grass along the sand was taller than any grass she had seen before, waist high at the very least. There were large, green leaves along the grass that Elsa hadn't recognized as anything common in Arendelle. Looking back at Ariel, Elsa had an idea. She got to her feet silently and walked over to the foliage.

Beyond the lush foliage and the flower and fruit trees which lined the edge of the beach for as far as Elsa could see, there was the forest. The setting sun had brought out the fireflies and they thrived in the thick darkness of the island's forest. Elsa had to stand and marvel at the sight. It wasn't often that she got to see something so beautiful as the living night sky captured in a vast forest with crickets chirping to the elegant display of nature.

_This island is beautiful_, Elsa thought. _It's a shame we have to leave so soon._ She thought of Anna and how worried she would be if Elsa didn't arrive back in Arendelle on time, never minding the fact that her entire crew of guards and sailors had perished at sea.

As Elsa watched the display of lights flicker in the forest, her wide eyes and smile began to falter. The storm hadn't been her fault. It wasn't like the Great Freeze from two years prior. _That_ had been her fault. She had no control over the storm out at sea and what had happened, yet she still felt guilty. She was the only one to have survived the storm and if it hadn't been for Ariel she would have perished just as everyone else had. Anna would have lost her sister for good this time and she would have to have taken the heavy burden of not only raising a child, albeit with her husband Kristoff, but becoming Queen of Arendelle as well—a position Elsa knew Anna was prepared for at this time.

Elsa shook her head at the depressing thoughts swirling around in her head and pushed them away knowing there was nothing she could do now for those lost out at sea. Her only purpose now was to get back home to Anna… and to find something suitable to cover Ariel with.

Elsa knelt down and examined the large leaves she had noticed when sitting on the beach. From afar they appeared larger than they actually were. She pulled a few from their roots and held them up to her body. She could certainly cover herself up with them, but she would need a lot of leaves to do so. Elsa began plucking the leaves from the dirt hoping to acquire enough to make a somewhat decent blanket for her mermaid friend.

As Elsa gathered more leaves, she could make out the dirt in the foliage. She leaned forward to grab some extra leaves a bit further back and as she pulled them free from the soil she noticed something large, green, and round. It appeared to be a rock, but the texture seemed to be a bit off. Elsa furrowed her brow and put the leaves down in the sand. She leaned forward into the foliage and tugged at the mysterious item. It came loose and while heavy Elsa was able to pick it up. She dropped it in the sand and realized it wasn't a rock, but rather an empty turtle shell.

She ran her hands over the top of it. The texture was smooth and the shell itself was a bit bumpy, but all-in-all it appeared to be in great shape. Elsa turned the shell over and running across the underside of it was what seemed to be a bony layer where the turtle itself would lay. Elsa ran her hand along the under layer confirming that it was in fact bone. Had the shell been without this bony layer Elsa could have used the shell for several different things such as a basket to carry things in or perhaps even a pan for cooking food. Elsa sighed begrudgingly and just left the shell in the sand, returning to pluck more leaves from the grass.

With a hand full of leaves in her arms, Elsa began to make her way back to Ariel. As she walked toward the mermaid she saw the small, life boat perched up on the sand and suddenly remembered the seaweed blanket that Ariel had made for her. Her eyes widened with the realization that she already had a blanket waiting for her. Elsa rolled her eyes and dropped her shoulders at her own annoyance. She dropped all of the leaves from her arms and ran over to the boat.

Elsa reached in and pulled the blanket out. Beneath it was Ariel's satchel containing her seaweed hair band and her decorative starfish along with the conch shell Ariel had given to Elsa as a gift. Elsa grabbed all of their belongings out of the boat and made her way back to Ariel. She carefully placed the conch shell and the satchel in the sand so as not to disturb Ariel and then she opened up the blanket.

Ariel's tail twitched as the foam from the high tide gently washed over her. Elsa took in the sight of the mermaid once more as she shimmered in the orange glow of the setting Sun. Ariel's lips were curved in a soft smile and her fingers twitched much like her tail was still doing. Elsa wondered what it was she was dreaming about when she felt her heart flutter in her chest. A warm blush enveloped her cheeks and she gently threw the seaweed blanket across Ariel's torso. She tucked the blanket under Ariel and smiled down at her friend. Brushing the backs of her fingers across Ariel's soft cheeks, she whispered, "Sweet dreams, my beautiful salmon."

Elsa fell back on her rear and peered out across the lonely sea. The waters were calm and with the exception of the chirping crickets behind her the island was silent. The Queen looked down at her person and realized she was still wearing the same nightgown from three nights earlier when her ship had sunk.

_I should probably change_, Elsa thought. Unfortunately, everything she had had with her was on the ship that was now resting in its grave somewhere under the sea. She shrugged and stood to her feet. _I guess ice dress it is, then_.

The high tide was slow moving and shallow which Elsa took comfort in. The last thing she would want is for the water to come in and sweep her away. Sure, she had a mermaid to rescue her, but being out in the water nevertheless was terrifying, especially after having nearly drowned. A shiver went down Elsa's spine as she remembered being trapped under the sail, helpless; she shuddered and forced the memory away.

Elsa slowly dipped her foot in the bubbly foam of the sea. She walked a few steps out into the water, allowing the tide to go up to her ankles. She looked back at Ariel, checking to see if the mermaid was still asleep. She felt nervous being naked around the sea creature even though Ariel obviously had no qualms about being naked around her.

_She was nude when she saved me, after all,_ Elsa thought.

Seeing Ariel's arm still draped over her eyes, Elsa turned back toward the sea and began to undress. She removed her shirt, first. Her pert breasts sat on her chest with very little sagging to them. Her pink nipples were small and soft and as she ran her hands over them, they began to stiffen. Her nipples had always been sensitive to touch.

_What really is the big deal about these?_ Elsa thought. _I mean they're just breasts. Why do Ariel's breasts get me so flustered?_

Elsa stood in the water gazing down at her chest. She thought about her first encounter with Ariel and how she had been bare chested. Her breasts were much larger than Elsa's and they hung freely from her chest with a bit of weight to them. Her nipples and areolas and surrounding flesh had been covered in green, glimmering scales much like her tail. As Elsa thought about Ariel's bare breasts, she could feel her cheeks warming. There was no doubt she was blushing and the more she thought about Ariel, the more her own nipples began to take shape—budding like tiny, pink thimbles and hardening like stone.

Another shiver went down Elsa's spine. She inhaled a slow, deep breath and focused on the task at hand: washing herself off.

Elsa stepped out of her panties and tossed them back to where she had tossed her shirt on the dry sand. She crouched down and cupped some water in her hands and poured it over herself. She wiped her skin down with her moist hands and did her best to clean up. Admittedly, she missed having soap and a washcloth, but this would have to do for now.

When Elsa finished, she stood up, her body glistening amidst the soft, orange glow coming from the beautiful sunset and turned back toward her clothes. She thought about putting them back on, but why bother? They were dirty, worn, and had begun to fade from the salt water. Using her magic, Elsa extended her arms and willed ice to form around her body.

The ice took shape starting at her forearms and materializing over her shoulders. It went down her chest and over the soft curves of her breasts and down to her abdomen forming the bodice. As it flowed past her curvy hips the dress flared out slightly so as not to be quite as tight as her regal ice gown that she often wore back in Arendelle. This slightly new design gave her legs more room to spread and left her feeling more comfortable. The water on her skin from her washing had turned into tiny crystals and had fallen at her feet. She didn't bother with shoes of any kind as heels seemed impractical on a beach.

When her magic had completely redesigned her in her new, elegant dress Elsa stared down at her body and smiled at her work. The light blue dress glimmered in the dying, soft light of the fading sunset. The ice felt comfortable against her cold skin and she felt a little bit closer to home this way. Elsa turned her head out toward the western horizon and watched as the last bit of sunlight disappeared. She turned back toward Ariel and in the dark she made her way to the mermaid.

**# # #**

**(****Ariel****)**

Ariel's eyes fluttered open to pure darkness. She lifted her arm from her eyes and stared up at the sky. The moon was shining bright and the stars twinkled in its silvery glow. Ariel ran her fingers through the silky, white sand and turned her head to where Elsa had been before she had fallen asleep. Her blonde peasant wasn't there, though.

Ariel turned over onto her stomach with sand falling from her back, her hair, and her tail and she looked up and down the beach for Elsa. The beach appeared to be empty, though. "Elsa?" Ariel said. Not hearing a response, Ariel shouted, "Elsa?"

Still, there was no reply. Ariel's heart began to pound in her chest. _Where is she? Where has she gone? What happened to her?_ Ariel turned in the sand and positioned herself so she was facing where the boat had been. It was still in the sand which meant Elsa was still hopefully on the island.

Ariel turned and peered out across the sea. The water was calm and silent. It shimmered in the silver moonlight and reflected the multiple stars hanging in the black sky. As the high tide gently washed up the beach leaving a trail of seafoam in its wake, Ariel peered down at the sand and found Elsa's clothes. Her eyes widened and her tail began to tremble.

"Elsa!" Ariel shouted across the sea. Ariel dragged herself through the soft sand and headed straight for the sea. "Elsa, I'll save you!"

"Save me from what?" Elsa shouted from behind Ariel.

Ariel stopped and turned around. "Elsa?"

Further up the beach, the foliage began to rustle and out of the leafy grass came Ariel's beautiful, blonde friend. Her lips immediately curved upward as a crimson flush filled her cheeks and her tail began swaying back and forth. "I'm over here," Elsa shouted back at Ariel. "I'm getting fruit for us to eat. I was getting hungry and I didn't want to wake you."

Ariel sighed with relief. Her heart continued to beat heavily against her chest. She moved further up the sand, her tail slithering along the beach, until she met the blonde at the edge of the grass. "Don't scare me like that," Ariel scolded.

Elsa chuckled. "What? I'm fine. I was just getting fruit." Elsa geld up her arm showing off a red piece of fruit that Ariel didn't recognize.

"You had me worried. I thought something had happened to you."

Elsa smiled adoringly down at the mermaid. "I'm sorry. It's just that you looked so peaceful on the sand; I couldn't bring myself to wake you up, at least not until after I had acquired some food for us to eat."

Ariel felt a blush fill her cheeks. She remembered Elsa's clothing on the beach and she cocked her head. "Are you nude? I saw your clothes in the sand."

Elsa's body was hidden behind the tall grass. From Ariel's point of view, being on land and only having the length of her arms to lift her, she could only see so much. Without legs, Ariel couldn't stand as tall as a normal human.

Elsa chuckled and plucked another red piece of fruit from a tree. "No, I'm wearing clothing. I took my other clothes off so I could bathe in the sea and rather than putting them back on, since they were dirty anyways, I decided to use my magic to make myself an ice dress."

"You can do that?" Ariel asked, awed by the thought of magic being used in such diverse ways.

Elsa turned her head toward the mermaid and chuckled. "I can do a lot with my magic. It took me a while to get used to it, but now I feel more comfortable with it." She plucked an orange piece of fruit from a tree and then made her way toward Ariel.

When Elsa stepped out of the grass and onto the sand, Ariel couldn't help much marvel at the blonde. Her new ice dress sparkled against the silver moonlight. It was like nothing she had ever seen before. The dress drew her eyes to it and she couldn't turn away.

Ariel eyeballed the dress from top to bottom. Everything about it was stunning. She noticed Elsa giggle and then take off toward the spot they had been resting at near the boulder. "Are you coming?" asked Elsa.

Ariel just continued to stare at Elsa. _How could you possibly get any prettier? I thought mermaids were supposed to be the most beautiful creatures in the world, yet your beauty is unfathomable._

"Ariel," Elsa giggled. "Are you coming or am I going to have to eat all of this fruit myself?"

Ariel, with her eyes still glued to the sparkling dress, dragged herself through the sand until she was sitting next to her blonde friend. She felt compelled to touch it, but she didn't want to ruin it. How sturdy was the ice? Would it fall apart if she touched it? She was hesitant, so she sat back and watched her friend mess with the fruit she had collected.

Sitting in the sand in front of Elsa was a basket made of ice. Elsa twirled her hand over the basket and it melted into a puddle, darkening the sand below it. Several pieces of fruit rolled away from Elsa and she reached forward and grabbed them. Elsa picked up an orange piece of fruit from the pile and wiped away the sand granules.

"Have you ever had one of these?" asked Elsa, presenting the piece of fruit to Ariel.

Ariel shook her head. "What is it?"

"It's called an orange," Elsa replied.

"Well, that's easy. It's colored orange and it's called an orange." Ariel pointed to other fruit sitting in the sand. "Is that one called a red?"

Elsa looked to where Ariel was pointing and burst out with laughter. She picked up the piece of fruit and giggled, "No, silly, this is an apple."

Ariel cocked her head in confusion. "But, that other one is called an orange and it's orange. This one is colored red and it's called an... apple?"

"That's just the human name for it," Elsa said, shrugging, stifling her laughter.

"Humans are weird," Ariel commented.

"You're the one with the fish tail," Elsa said, flashing a sly grin at Ariel.

Ariel feigned a gasp. "It's better than legs!"

"Only in the water."

"Well, I seem to remember a certain young woman nearly drowning because she _didn't_ have a tail."

Elsa narrowed her eyes and then grinned at Ariel. "Touché." She offered the orange to Ariel. "You want to try it?"

Ariel's eyes returned to Elsa's glimmering dress. _I want to touch it. I want to feel it._ Ariel took the orange from Elsa and squeezed her long, thin fingers around it. It felt firm in her hand. She brought it to her mouth and took a big bite out of it, juices coating her lips and running down her chin. It was certainly different in taste from anything she was used to.

The hard, spongy covering of the fruit tasted awful to Ariel, yet the inside—the juicy, soft heart of the fruit—tasted sweet and sour. Ariel's lips puckered and her face contorted. She chewed through the covering of the fruit and spit it out, swallowing the juicy interior of the orange. Elsa was covering her lips with her hand and giggling at the mermaid.

"Ack, what? That was disgusting yet delicious all at once. Why do humans eat such weird things? You know, that's what's great about fish and shrimp and other seafood. You know what you're getting when you pick it out of the water. I grab a fish and I expect delicious, cold, raw meat; and, that's what I get! When I look at this," Ariel said, holding out the orange, "I expect... well, I don't know what to expect! But, I certainly didn't expect to like it and hate it at the same time."

Elsa continued to giggle at Ariel's ranting. "Ariel, you're supposed to _peel_ the orange, not eat the rind with it."

The sour, citrusy taste still lingered in Ariel's mouth. She scraped the roof of her tongue against her teeth. "Nothing in the ocean tastes anything like this," she exclaimed as she held up the bitten-into orange.

"I know," Elsa said, digging the nail of her numb into her own orange and peeling back a bit of the rind. "Fruit is delicious and good for you."

Ariel watched as Elsa peeled her orange completely. She threw the rind into the sand and split the soft, juicy interior in half in her hands. Elsa handed one of the halves to Ariel. "Here, now try it."

Ariel stared the orange she had bitten into. "What do you want me to do with this?"

Elsa sat her half of the peeled orange in her lap. "Hand it to me. I'll peel it for you."

Ariel eyed the fruit. "I can do it," she said, defensively. Elsa pulled the hand that was offering Ariel the half-peeled orange back slightly as her eyes fell toward the sand and her smile faltered. Ariel shifted slightly in the sand and rephrased her last remark.

"I mean, I can do it," she said, her tone a lot less defensive and more friendly this time. She offered a smile at Elsa.

Elsa's eyes met hers and her downward curved lips slightly went up. "Thank you," Ariel said, wanting to see Elsa smile again. "Thank you for getting dinner."

That did it. Elsa beamed with a wide smile. Ariel smiled back at the beautiful blonde.

Ariel dug her sharp nails into the rind and began peeling away at the fruit. Unfortunately, her sharp nails also dug into the soft interior of the fruit and pulled most of it away with each piece of rind being pulled with the fruit. When Ariel was done peeling the fruit there wasn't all that much left of the soft, edible insides. Ariel pursed her lips and slumped her shoulders at her abysmal work.

She looked toward Elsa when she heard giggling next to her. Elsa, with orange juice coating her lips and running down her chin, was giggling softly at the mermaid's handiwork. "You peeled too much of it," she said, her voice showing her amusement.

"I've never done this before," whined Ariel. She dropped the orange, or what was left of it, into the sand feeling completely useless. "I should have let you peel it for me," she said in defeat. "I think I'm just going to go grab a fish." Her eyes wandered back to Elsa's glimmering ice dress. She felt a lump form in her throat. She still wanted to touch the dress.

"Before you do, perhaps you'd like to try this? You may like it more?" said Elsa, handing Ariel one of the apples. "You don't have to peel it or anything. You can eat it all... well, except for the core. Don't eat the core... or the stem."

Ariel took the piece of fruit. "You want me to eat this red?"

Elsa chuckled at Ariel. "It's an apple. Not all fruit are named after their colors. Actually, come to think of it, I'm pretty sure only an orange is named after its color."

"Apple," said Ariel. She repeated the word a few more times. "So, this is good to eat as it is?"

Elsa nodded. She quickly snatched the apple away from Ariel and wiped the sand from it and then handed it back. "There, now it's good to eat."

Ariel rolled the apple around in her hand, its shiny, red exterior reflecting the moonlight. She opened her mouth and took a big bite out of the apple. Unlike the orange, this piece of fruit was hard and not just on the outside, but on the inside, too. She chewed and as the sweet juices coated her tongue, Ariel found herself quite enjoying this piece of fruit. She swallowed her bite and took another large bite from the piece of fruit.

In a few more bites she had the apple eaten down to its core. Flecks of red peeling lined Ariel's lips and chin and when she was finished she tossed the core behind her. Rubbing her belly, she grinned with wide eyes, "Now, that was good!"

Elsa handed Ariel another apple. "Here, enjoy another."

Ariel gently took the apple from Elsa's hand this time and bit into it. Elsa peeled another orange and together they enjoyed their fruity dinner on the beach under the glow of the soft moonlight.

**# # #**

When they had both finished eating, they had lay together in the sand listening to the crickets chirp beyond the sandy beach, enjoying a light breeze coming in from the sea, and gazing up at the stars in all of their beautiful glory.

"What do stars mean to humans?" asked Ariel, after a long, comfortable silence between the two young women.

"What do you mean?" said Elsa.

"I mean, you know what they mean to me, to merfolk. They're the deceased merfolk watching down on their friends and family from the Great Sea above. Do they mean anything to humans? I would imagine they can't mean the same thing to you as they do to me since humans aren't even supposed to know mermaids exist."

"I know _you_ exist," said Elsa, matter-of-factly.

"Well, yeah, but you're an exception. The rest of the human world doesn't know we exist." Ariel rolled over onto her belly with her arms crossed beneath her and her back arched. Gazing down at Elsa from this view she could see her beautiful icy blue eyes surrounded by pearly whites. Her eyes went over Elsa's small nose and then lingered on her lips. She hadn't felt a pair of lips against her own since Eric. As she lingered on Elsa's, she craved that feeling once more. Only did Elsa's voice bring her out of her trance.

"Stars are just... a way of navigation, I guess?" Ariel shook her head, focusing in on Elsa's words and not her lips or her dress, which she was still wanting to touch. "Humans look to the stars to find their way home. We look to the stars to find hope. They shine brightly up there reminding us that maybe there's more to life than just what we have here."

"Oh," Ariel said, her voice beginning to trail away. _So, they don't see them as merfolk._ The thought saddened Ariel. She knew her mother was up there looking down on her, but to the rest of the world, outside of the merfolk population, they truly were nothing more than tiny balls of light trapped up in the sky, only permitted to come out when the sun would disappear into the Underworld. "So, stars don't mean anything to humans other than a way of navigation? You don't even see other humans up there in the way that we see merfolk?"

"How could I?" said Elsa. She turned her head toward Ariel and gazed into the mermaid's sea green eyes. Ariel noticed her icy blue eyes sparkling in the moonlight again. "All of those stars up there in the Great Sea are merfolk looking down on us," Elsa said softly, her lips forming a smile.

Ariel couldn't resist a smile. Was Elsa's answer corny? Sure. But, did it mean a lot to her to hear Elsa say that she believed in the merfolk's legend of the stars? Yes.

"I believe," whispered Elsa.

Ariel's cheeks burned as a deep crimson blush filled her cheeks. She placed a hand over her heart and felt it thump against her chest with elation. She sucked in her bottom lip and chewed on it. A swell of tingles started in Ariel's chest and dispersed throughout her body as she stared into Elsa's eyes.

"Y-You do?" Ariel stammered.

Elsa kept her eyes on Ariel's for a few seconds longer before turning her head back toward the sky. "A beautiful, red-haired, little mermaid once told me that every star in the sky is a merfolk staring down on us, watching us from the Great Sea above. She told me that every year the souls of the deceased gather at Corona and float off together so none of them have to be alone when they meet for the great travel. That's a far more beautiful story than any story I have ever heard about the stars. How could I not want to believe in such a thing?"

Ariel scooted closer to Elsa in the sand. "You're the reason my father is wrong about humans," she whispered earnestly. Elsa turned her head toward Ariel again; their eyes locked. "It's humans like you who should want to make us come to the surface and explore life above the sea. It's the beauty in your heart to be open to such beliefs that don't even reflect your own customs that should make us want to come to the surface. You make me happy to have met you."

"You make me happy, too," Elsa said softly, her eyes never leaving Ariel's.

Ariel and Elsa lay in the sand for several minutes, quietly, just staring peacefully into each other's eyes as the gentle waves of the high tide came up the beach and the chirping crickets played in the background. Ariel traced her fingers in the sand between herself and Elsa. She slowly traced her way to Elsa's knee and when her finger touched the cold, glossy dress, she watched as Elsa's lips parted and a quick, low gasp escaped her mouth.

"Can... Can I touch it?" Ariel asked quietly, referring to Elsa's ice dress.

Elsa brought her knee slightly forward and nodded, a pink blush filling her cheeks as her eyes stayed attached to Ariel's.

Ariel traced her finger slowly up the curve of Elsa's knee. The slick, icy coldness of her dress sent chills down Ariel's spine. Never had she felt something so wonderful much less on a human. As her finger curved around the bend of Elsa's knee, her palm came down slowly and covered the body part. Elsa's eyes never left Ariel's despite her breathing beginning to quicken.

With her hand lying fully on Elsa's knee, she slowly began to rub her hand up Elsa's leg. The slick, cold dress remained still, yet underneath Ariel could feel Elsa's leg beginning to quiver, almost as if she were cold. Her hand slowly went up her thigh and as she caressed Elsa gently through the dress, it elicited a gasp from the blonde.

Ariel noticed her own body beginning to act weird as she gently, sensually made her way up Elsa's thigh. Her breasts tingled and under her dull, clamshell bra she felt her nipples begin to harden. Often times they would only harden when she was doing something she enjoyed or something that felt good to her. And, right now, caressing Elsa's thigh felt good to her, it felt right.

Elsa's entire face was flushed with crimson as was her neck and the upper part of her exposed chest. As Ariel's fingers traveled up her thigh and to her hip, Ariel stopped. Elsa's eyes were now closed and her breathing was labored. Her lips quivered and as she spoke, Ariel noticed the quavering of her voice. Elsa was nervous.

"What's wrong?"

Ariel slowly pulled her hand away from Elsa's thigh. "Your dress feels wonderful," Ariel whispered.

Elsa opened her eyes and began breathing heavily. "Why did you stop?"

_Because I enjoyed touching you as much as you enjoyed having me touch you._ Ariel lied, "I'm hungry. Are you hungry?"

Elsa was still recovering. Her body quivered in the sand. "I could eat, I guess," she stammered.

Ariel smiled. She sat up and stared down at her beautiful, blonde friend. "I like the apples, but they didn't do much to settle my hunger. I'm going to go and grab some fish. Is that okay with you?"

Elsa managed to sit up. Ariel could see that she was still quivering a bit. Sand fell from her arms and her hair and in the moonlight she looked like a queen, a goddess. Ariel's nipples were still erect under her bra.

"Uh, yeah," Elsa said, shaking her head.

"Okay, I'll be right back," Ariel said as she began to drag herself toward the sea.

Elsa got up and began walking away from the spot they had claimed as their own next to the boulder. Ariel turned around before disappearing into the water and said, "Where you going?"

"I'm going to get some sticks," replied Elsa, her voice still a bit shaky.

"Why?"

"If we're eating fish, I want to make a fire. I know you eat fish raw, but I'd like to have my cooked for a change."

Ariel shook her head as Elsa made her way back to the foliage beyond the beach. As she slithered her way into the shallow water, under her breath Ariel muttered, "Humans are weird."

**# # #**

About ten fathoms out from the coast of the island the sea was still and quiet. Ariel floated on the surface on her back with her hands tucked up under her head and her hair splayed out all around her like an octopus with its tentacles spread out in all directions. She stared up at the stars with a pleasant grin spread across her lips as she basked in the silver moonlight, her beautiful green tail glimmering and sparkling just like the stars of her ancestors above.

"As you've probably seen, I rescued someone," Ariel said quietly. "Her ship was caught in Poseidon's rage and it sunk like all ships do when facing the wrath of the gods. I tried saving everyone I could, but the water was too much for them and then there were sharks. There was blood everywhere and that only attracted more of the great white predators. Luckily, I managed to save one person.

"Mother, I saved a woman. I thought she was a man and I thought maybe I could find my new prince, but he turned out to be no prince. He's just a woman, but a wonderful woman," Ariel added quickly. "Don't let me underestimate Elsa. Oh, and that's her name: Elsa. She's beautiful and funny and charming and just a wonderful person to be around. I really like her, mother." Ariel pursed her lips and felt a blush envelope her cheeks. "In fact, I think I really, _really_ like her!

"I know father would never allow me to be with her. He would tell me that all humans are the same, that all humans are like Eric. But, mother, Eric wasn't always a bad man. He was loving and protective when we met and when we were first married. He was humble and courteous and accepting of all of my flaws as a human. I know it didn't last, but I can't see Elsa being the same way."

Ariel sighed heavily. "Mother, I wish you were here. I wish you were here to tell father that being at the surface isn't bad. I wish you were here so I could talk to you about my feelings about Elsa. I wish you were here so I could just hug you again and feel you in my arms and lay my head on your breasts and listen to your soft heart beating."

Ariel sighed deeply and continued to drift atop the water for several minutes, silently, gazing up at the twinkling stars.

"Ariel." The voice flowed gently and serenely across the sea and as soon as Ariel heard it, her heart fluttered, her cheeks grew warm, and she smiled.

Ariel sat up in the water, her tail disappearing beneath the surface and her head poking above it with her breasts floating at the surface. "I'm out here still," Ariel replied.

"I got the sticks for the fire," Elsa said.

"I'll get the fish. I was just admiring the sky."

Elsa lifted her head. "It is beautiful. If I wave, do you think your mother will see me?"

Ariel brought her shoulders to her ears as another, warmer blush filled her cheeks. She loved hearing Elsa speak about her mother. It brought a sense of solace to her, since she knew Elsa would never get the pleasure of actually meeting her. "She may," Ariel replied.

Ariel watched as Elsa waved to the stars. "Hi, Athena. I just want you to know that your daughter is really wonderful. If I have to be stuck out at sea with someone, I'm glad that it's her."

Ariel covered her face with her wet hands. The cool sea water did little to relieve her burning cheeks, but then again her grin did little to relieve her hot cheeks as well. "Elsa," Ariel giggled embarrassingly, "stop it. You're embarrassing me!"

"Oh, and I forgot to mention that your daughter is gorgeous," Elsa shouted to the stars.

"Oh my gods, Elsa! That's it, I'm... ugh..."

Elsa giggled and fell on her rear in the sand. "I just thought I'd tell her the truth," Elsa shouted, giggling.

"You're so embarrassing!"

Elsa flashed Ariel a smile and a wink to accompany it.

As Ariel began to submerge she lifted her head to the stars once more. "She really is wonderful, mother. I love you." And with that Ariel completely submerged herself under the sea and began her hunt for a second dinner.

* * *

**Well, in the past month I didn't get as much writing done as I had hoped. I worked a lot and when I wasn't working I was mostly sleeping. I also decided to become a vegetarian. It's something I've been interested in for a while, but I wasn't sure if I could give up meat. Turns out it's not that hard for me to give up meat. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Thank you for all of your support in the last month and thank you to my new followers as well. :-)  
**


	12. Chapter 11: Godslayer

**I'm sorry it took such a long time to upload a new chapter to The Queen and the Mermaid. I hope you can forgive me. Even with being on such a long hiatus this story has still gained more Followers and for that I truly thank all of you. I'm happy you like the story as much as I do and here's to getting back to regular updates, hopefully! Have a wonderful weekend and I hope you enjoy the newest chapter. :-)**

* * *

**Chapter Eleven: Godslayer**

* * *

**(****Ariel****)**

As Ariel sank deeper in the clear water she held her head up, her eyes cast to the dark, starry sky high above her. Her red hair floated all around her face and her tail arched in the shape of a 'U' with the two tips of her tailfin playing in her floating hair.

"Mother," Ariel whispered, "she's great. If you're watching us, I know you can see that, too. There's more than just beauty to her, though she is quite pleasant on the eyes." With that, Ariel felt a warm flush fill her cheeks. She grinned. "She's nice and wonderful, mother. I know you'd like her. Father"—and Ariel shrugged—"probably won't like her seeing as how she's a human _with_ magical powers, but she's not out to hurt me. If she were, she would have done it already." A moment of insecurity settled in Ariel's thoughts. _Right?_

Ariel shook her head, dismissing the hurtful thought. The stars became a wash of wavy white light that settled on the surface of the water as Ariel sank lower to the seafloor. "I love you, mother," Ariel said finally.

When her belly settled atop the loose dirt of the cool seafloor, Ariel laid herself flat like a worm in the soft, wet soil of the late evening hours. Her hair fell around her head and settled on the seafloor with her. Her dark-sea vision turned everything bright green and the young mermaid suddenly had crystal clear vision under the sea. Her eyes darted back and forth searching the waters for something to eat for dinner.

Nothing in the water moved or at least nothing considerable that would provide the mermaid and her human companion enough for a dinner. Ariel sighed. She figured she must have been too close to the island for any of the larger fish to approach. Still she kept silent and motionless. If given time, surely _something_ would swim by and approach her.

Several minutes passed by and still nothing approached her. Ariel dug her sharp nails into the loose soil. The wet, clammy feeling of mud sifting between her fingers felt good. She kept curling her fingers in the mud as if she were groping the seafloor. And she waited.

And waited.

And waited.

By the time Ariel had given up hope of anything swimming close enough by her to reach up and snatch out of the water, her stomach had started to growl at her. It was demanding that she move away from her current spot in the soil and go out and find some food so she could eat. Ariel relinquished and pushed herself up out of the soil. She mounted her hands in the mud and ejected herself up using the strength of her arms and chest. She beat her tail against the seafloor and kicked up a thick brown cloud of dirt that enveloped her. Ariel darted out of the dirt cloud, twisted her body around, and took off in the opposite direction of the island. If she was to find food, she would have to go farther out into the sea.

By the time that Ariel had settled in an area away from the island, she was sure that she had been away from Elsa for at least half an hour. The blonde that made Ariel blush whenever she thought about her was surely thinking about her right now, too, Ariel presumed. _She's probably thinking, 'Where is Ariel with our dinner? I'm starving!'_ Ariel knitted her eyebrows together. _I'm a competent hunter! Why has it taken me this long to get us dinner?!_

Where Ariel settled along the seafloor long, wavy seaweed danced in the water around her and empty clamshells littered the ground. Her green vision lit up the dark sea and yet still nothing worth eating approached Ariel. Sure, there was seaweed which Ariel actually enjoyed eating with her dinner, but that was the thing. It was _with_ her dinner, not _as_ dinner. Ariel equated it to lettuce from the human world. From her time being human, she remembered lettuce being used from everything to sandwiches to salads, but it was never a full-on meal. Humans never just ate lettuce as a main course and as so merfolk never ate just seaweed as a main course. Ariel had to find something with substance. She had to find something with nutritional value. She had to find something with a pulse.

Ariel slowly slithered around in the mud and watched for something to move other than the seaweed surrounding her. Her eyes danced back and forth in her head as she searched. Minnows crept by overhead, but they were two small for Elsa and herself. Even an entire school of minnows wouldn't be enough seeing as how the two ladies would primarily be feasting on scales and bones. _How whales survive on algae will forever baffle me_, Ariel thought.

Ariel continued to slither through the mud when something caught her attention. Up ahead there was a rock sitting in a patch of sea grass. However, this rock wasn't a normal rock. Normal rocks had algae buildup on them and barnacles plastered to them. She slithered closer to the patch of grass and noticed the faintest movement come from the rock. _And they don't breathe_, Ariel thought.

She straightened herself out, her tail flat to the ground and her body just slightly arched so as to keep her head elevated. Her coral red hair danced all around her face and there was little Ariel could do about it. Being in the sea, though, a lot of things had a tendency to want to float toward the surface so it wasn't like her hair was out of place. In fact, it did a great job at covering her face.

Through the waves of hair floating around her, Ariel kept a careful watch on whatever it was that was sitting in the grass. She had seen many creatures in her life under the sea, but for some reason this one wasn't registering in her mind. Something moved next to the breathing rock and when Ariel darted her eyes at it she recognized it as a tendril. The tip wriggled like a worm and suddenly there was a fish staring at it. Wide-eyed, the fish puffed its lips and flared its gills. She could see the fish's hunger deep in its round, green eyes. It moaned and Ariel heard the fish say softly, "Tonight I will dine like the King."

A deep, foreboding voice followed. "For you are the King, then I am the god, Poseidon, which will devour you."

The fish's eyes widened and it turned to dart away. However, the tendril was just barely faster. It reached up and gripped the fish with one of several of its sticky pads underneath which Ariel had only now noticed and the breathing rock came to life. Its large round eyes flashed past Ariel not noticing her as the tendril swept into the body of the rock with the fish disappearing.

_Octopus_, Ariel thought. _No wonder I didn't recognize it. They're some of the stealthiest creatures in the all of the oceans._

The octopus settled back into the grass and continued to chew on its meal. Ariel lowered herself further and carefully slithered her way into the patch of sea grass. It tickled her skin, especially near her belly button, but she did all that she could to suppress the need to giggle. She kept her sight focused on the cephalopod with all other thoughts but capturing it for dinner leaving her mind. She was now determined.

Ariel felt her stomach tighten as she crept closer to the octopus. Her nails dug into the dirt and she felt the roots beneath the soil between her fingers. Her jaw tightened and her sharp teeth ground together. She took in a deep, slow breath as she settled no more than two feet behind her and Elsa's dinner.

In the split of a second, Ariel darted forward, arms outstretched and nails ready to dig into the slimy creature. A cloud of thick, black substance shot out at Ariel and blinded her. She screamed, or at least tried to, when she found herself choking on the thick, black cloud. The octopus had darted off and had shot ink at the mermaid. "You can't kill a god," it mocked.

Ariel coughed and wiped her eyes. They burned. The ink was oily and sticky. She fought to breathe and for a moment she thought that she might actually die from choking on the natural defensive tactic that all merfolk were taught back in school. How she had allowed herself to forget such a memorable trait of all octopus and squids had been a result of her hunger overriding her thoughts.

Ariel flapped her tail, clearing the cloud of black ink from around her and heaved and choked. She finally was able to breathe again and she managed to clear her eyes and face of the oily ink bomb. The octopus was nowhere to be seen as Ariel twisted and turned while floating above the ink-stained sea grass below. She pushed currents out and away from her as her tail whipped back and forth. Her face was red from her lack of oxygen and her lip curled as she gnashed her teeth. Ariel could hear the octopus mocking her with a chuckle and she screamed.

Ariel dove to the seafloor and began swiping her hands through it. Clouds of dirt and debris filled the water all around her as she searched for the octopus. Her jaw was clenched tight; her fiery red eyebrows knitted together. She twisted and turned, hacking at the ground. "Come to me," Ariel growled as if she had actually expected the octopus to just jump in her arms.

"I am fearless," Ariel heard the octopus say. "You will never find me."

Ariel paused. The dirt settled around her and she listened for the octopus. "I will," she said.

"I am immortal," said the octopus. Ariel heard the words coming from somewhere over her right shoulder. As she looked in that direction she noticed a sunken life boat much like the one she had put Elsa in to save her life. She focused her attention in that direction. "Poseidon cannot be killed," added the octopus.

Ariel was now sure that the octopus was somewhere near the sunken life boat. She decided to play along. "And what makes you so sure that you're our god—_the god!_—Poseidon."

"Look around you. Where is everyone? Where are the fish? The crustaceans? Where are the squids and the octopi?" Until the octopus had mentioned it, Ariel hadn't realized that the octopus was right. There were a few fish around, but nothing of what should be expected out in the sea. "They know better than to settle in my realm. And, soon, you will too."

Ariel settled herself on the seafloor again. Her tail whipped back and forth across the mud, her breasts pressed under her chest, and her red hair settled all around her. She crept forward making her way to the boat. "If you make threats, then you better be able to back them up." She inched closer and closer to the sunken lifeboat. "Your ink may slow me down, but it won't stop me."

"I seem to disagree," said the octopus. "You had a fairly rough time with that last ink bomb. You nearly choked... princess."

Ariel froze. How did the octopus know who she was?

The octopus began singing in a low, gravelly voice, mocking the mermaid.

_Daughter of Triton_

_Princess of the sea_

_You shamed your family_

_When you traded fins for feet_

With her hands on the seafloor, Ariel coiled her fingers into her palms. Slick, thick mud oozed between her fingers. Her tail whipped back and forth. Her upper lip curled.

_You did it all for a man_

_You rushed into love_

_You wanted out of the sea_

_To live in the world above_

_But things were not great_

_You would soon come to understand_

_For he did not love you with his heart_

_Just with the back of his hand_

Had Ariel been able to produce tears, she was sure that she would have been crying. A sleuth of memories came flooding back to her: memories of pain, heartbreak, and anger. She did her best to forget about them and instead wonder how the octopus knew of her past. The only explanation that Ariel could come up with was that stories of her return to Atlantica must have spread from the kingdom and all throughout the oceans. After all, it was hard to keep such news as gargantuan as her return secret from _everyone_, especially since she was the daughter of the King of Atlantica, ruler of the sea.

The octopus continued singing.

_A couple of years of abuse_

_And your best friend dead_

_You had to call on your daddy_

_And, "What a disappointment," he had said_

The anger returned to Ariel. "How dare you talk about Flounder!" she screamed. "And, my father may be hardheaded and strict, especially after what happened with Eric, but I know without a doubt that he would never see me as a disappointment!" Though, after running away for a human for a second time she now wasn't so sure. Her feelings of insecurity returned.

_Oh, and need I forget_

_Your mother sees you, too_

_She looks down from above_

_And sees a disappointment, too_

"Sorry for rhyming too with too in that last verse," said the octopus, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "I just made the song up. So, please, I hope you can forgive me?" The octopus chuckled to himself.

"You don't talk about my mother!" Ariel was livid. "Or Flounder!" The color in her face matched her hair and she darted up off of the seafloor and twisted up and around the sunken lifeboat. She roared as she spotted the octopus in a crevice between wood and rock. The octopus's eyes widened and it darted off leaving a cloud of black ink that consumed the boat.

Ariel held her breath, closed her eyes, and darted through the ink. When she came out the other side she opened her eyes and spotted the octopus fleeing. The cruel, mocking cephalopod was now screaming and spurting ink uncontrollably. Had rage not blinded the mermaid at this moment, she was sure that she would have found the sight amusing. As it was, though, she kept after the octopus, dodging all of its ink.

They raced over the sea grass that Ariel had found the octopus in earlier and kept going until they both disappeared into a large patch of seaweed. Ariel didn't let that stop her though. She had gained on the octopus and with arms outstretched she fastened her grip around one of its tentacles which caused the sea creature to shriek. He began pleading for his life.

"Please, please, please! Please, don't kill me! I didn't mean _any_ of what I said. Of course your father and mother are proud of you. Of course they love you!"

Ariel's nails dug into two of the octopus's eight tentacles. He cried out again. Her eyes seethed with anger. Her chest heaved and her face was still as red as her hair. "A god begs," she said, now being the one to mock the other.

"Ah! A god?! No, no, no! I am no god! My name is Don! I just call myself Poseidon to sound tough! Please, don't hurt me!" He quivered and babbled.

Ariel bared her sharp teeth to the octopus. More ink spurted out from him. "Well, _Poseidon_," Ariel hissed, "if you want to be a god, then you can call me Godslayer."

Ariel opened her mouth wide, ready to sink her teeth into the soft, fleshy skin of the octopus.

"Godslayer," growled a voice from above.

Ariel's eyes narrowed. Her eyebrows met at the arch of her nose and lifted her head to look above her. Floating just above the seaweed was a large, crustacean-like creature that also happened to be part merfolk.

The creature's hair was pearly white with two, long, blue antennae sticking out from her head and her skin was light brown. Her eyes gleamed with a green glow and her hands were not normal hands, but rather small pincers. She was thin with small, bare breasts and below her waist was the body of a beautiful, rainbow-colored shrimp. However, it wasn't the body of a normal shrimp. Her other half was enormous. She appeared significantly disproportionate. She had too many legs to count and two massive spear-like pincers attached to her shrimp body.

Ariel loosened her grip on the octopus. He fled from the mermaid, crying and praising the arrival of the creature above her. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" He cried. "I did as you said. I found the mermaid that killed your children."

_Children?_ Ariel thought.

The octopus was now floating next to the sea creature. He pointed a tentacle at Ariel. "It was her! It was definitely her. She was the one at your nest! She was the one that killed most of your babies! She's the daughter of King Triton. I could recognize that nasty, red hair and abhorrent, green tail anywhere!"

Ariel's upper lip twitched at the octopus. Her red hair and green tail had been genetically passed down from her mother. To call her red hair nasty and her green tail abhorrent was to say those things of her mother and Queen Athena had not been ugly!

"You did well, Don," said the creature. She then turned her gaze down to Ariel. "I will now teach her what it means to mess with the Mantis Queen," she snarled.

All anger suddenly subsided in the little mermaid. A shiver went up her spine as her breath became ragged. A lump had formed in her throat that wasn't wanting to be swallowed. She remembered the sign a few days prior when she had fled from the kelp forest. It had told her to beware of the Mantis Queen. Being naive, Ariel had thought of the sign as a joke, thinking it was a sign that warned of mantis shrimp being in the area and nothing more. Never did she actually believe that there was a _real_ queen of the mantis shrimp. She had never once heard stories about her! She had only ever heard of the stories of how dangerous it was to catch mantis shrimp.

The Mantis Queen began clicking her two pincers together as she grinned down at Ariel. "This is where you run for your death," the octopus mocked.

Ariel's eyes widened. A tingling sensation ran from her shoulders down to her fin and within a second she was gone. Ariel darted through the seaweed and back across the sea grass. She could feel the water shifting behind her and she could hear the _whirr_ of the large creature racing after her.

_How am I always getting myself into these situations?!_ Ariel screamed in her thoughts.

She beat her tail as fast as she could. She wanted to get back to the island. _And for what?! So this monster can get Elsa, too?_ She remembered Elsa's magic. _Maybe she can freeze her?_

Ariel had traveled pretty far from the island, though. She was strong and an obviously excellent swimmer, but endurance was never a high point with her. She could already feel her body wanting to slow down, but she couldn't. At least, she couldn't if she wanted to live. She had to get to the island and warn Elsa and hope to the god—Poseidon—himself that she could use her magic to stop the Mantis Queen.

Ariel's heart was ready to explode in her chest. It was beating too hard and too fast and her gills and lungs were working on overdrive. As she neared the surface she noticed the petals from the trees along the beach floating in the moonlight. She was close!

When Ariel finally surfaced and landed on the beach, she gasped for air and was unable to speak. The cool sand felt good on her skin.

"Ariel," Elsa said in a cheery, excited voice.

Ariel felt a flush settle in her already reddened face. She found herself wanting to cuddle up next to Elsa and run her fingers through the blonde's hair. She had no time for that, though. She had no time for anything in fact, as Ariel heard a large splash break the surface of the water.

The Mantis Queen was here!

Ariel rolled over staring frightfully at Elsa. "Run, Elsa!" Ariel screamed. "Run!"

"Ariel!" Elsa shot up to her feet pointing out at the sea. "Ariel, what is—"

"RUN!"

Ariel shrieked as the Mantis Queen fell over her, wrapping Ariel up in her arms. "Come Princess," she growled, "we're not finished yet."

Ariel writhed and squirmed in the queen's grasp and did her best to get free, but to no avail. Ariel dug her nails in the cool, beach sand as the Mantis Queen began to drag her back out to sea. It did no good, though. The Mantis Queen was too strong.

"RUN, ELS—" and then the water swallowed the mermaid.


End file.
